Blue Jays still facing undeniable trade deadline reality despite win streak

What will the Toronto Blue Jays do with Bo Bichette? That seems to be the prevailing questions on everyone’s mind, ever since the Blue Jays signed Vladimir Guerrero Jr. to a record-breaking, franchise altering contract extension. Ever since their pro-baseball debuts it seems like Vladdy and Bo have been joined at the hip – with both expressing their desires to want to stay in Toronto and win a World Series for the franchise. But to this point, only Vladdy has been locked up long term.  

Even with the Blue Jays currently riding a hot streak and putting themselves right back into contention for a playoff spot, the future of Bichette looms large in the background.

Blue Jays still facing undeniable trade deadline reality despite win streak

Bichette is set to hit the free agent market after the 2025 season, and he finds himself at a weird spot in his professional career. He’s having a very good year with his numbers trending back toward his career norms, after an injury riddled campaign in 2024. He’s currently on pace to hit 20 home runs and finish with a 108 wRC+ and a 2.7 fWAR.

While he’s got the track record to suggest he can be a productive hitter at the plate, he has never truly offered great upside defensively. This year baseball savant places his fielding run value at -3 which ranks 25th among all MLB shortstops and has only had one season where he’s produced a positive fielding run value. His range ranks in the eighth percentile and his arm strength is ranked in the 35th.

The issue with signing Bichette comes down to trying to figure out what kind of contract does he deserve, and what are the Blue Jays willing to give him. In recent years, shortstops have raked in some big money deals. Carlos Correa with the Twins is earning almost $40 million a season, while Corey Seager and Francisco Lindor are just north of $30 million. Five others are making over $20 million a year and Bichette has some comparable statistics to those players such as Trea Turner, Xander Bogaerts and Trevor Story.

Further complicating matters is that the Blue Jays traded for Andrés Giménez this past offseason and while he grades out as one of, if not the best defensive second basemen in the game, the thinking is, he could slide over to play short if the Blue Jays let Bichette walk.  Giménez has four years remaining on a deal that will pay him over $100 million and if Bichette has a good agent, he could simply point to the Giménez contract and say, “that’s our starting point, or we’re testing the market.”

It’s not farfetched to think that the 26-year-old Bichette could get a deal that takes him to his age-32 or 33 season, while paying him over $100 million. However, it is unlikely that this front office would be comfortable committing over $700 million to three-quarters of their infield.  

If they don’t sign Bichette, he presents an intriguing option on the trade market at the deadline. Should the Blue Jays stay in the race, can we really see them entertaining a trade for their everyday shortstop? Would they be comfortable moving Giménez to short mid-season, while utilizing Ernie Clement more at second? There also aren’t many teams currently in contention that need a starting shortstop, so the market for Bichette could be thin.

The bottom line is, the Blue Jays can’t let Bichette walk away from the franchise for nothing, and he could be their best trade chip. If Bichette gets dangled and a team offers the Blue Jays a player to help them in a greater area of need, there could be a blockbuster trigger waiting to be pulled.