3 Bo Bichette trade packages the Blue Jays wouldn’t be able to turn down

Milwaukee Brewers

With their shortstop Willy Adames a pending free agent, the always competitive Brewers could be in the market. Bo’s 2025 AAV of $11.5M would actually come cheaper than Adames’ $12.25M AAV in 2024. And with a league worst DRS of -11 at SS season-to-date, Adames has been a liability in the field. Bichette’s DRS of -3 would actually offer an upgrade defensively for the Brew Crew. Of course, Adames’ bat is his calling card, with a wRC+ of 118, OPS+ 116, and an fWAR of 3.7 to rank 5th at the position in 2024.

To make the Blue Jays an offer they couldn’t refuse, Milwaukee would have to dig deep and offer top catching prospect Jeferson Quero (ranked No. 44 on Baseball America’s top 100 ranking), and MLB-ready RHP prospect Jacob Misiorowski (No. 64 on BA’s top 100).

The right-handed hitting Quero won the minor league Gold Glove at catcher for 2023, but has missed all of 2024 after suffering a torn labrum in his throwing shoulder in his first regular season Triple-A game in April. He underwent season-ending surgery, but should be ready for spring training in 2025 given a nine month recovery timeline. It was a freak injury: he dislocated his right shoulder in his Triple-A debut when he dove back to first base after drawing a walk in his first at bat of the season.

He’s still the top ranked prospect in the Brewers system, and like former Blue Jays top prospect Gabriel Moreno, he was signed as an international free agent from Venezuela. He’ll be starting his age-22 season next year, and has slashed .278/.350/.445 in parts of four minor league seasons to go with his sensational throwing arm.

As per his MLB Pipeline scouting report, “Quero won a well-deserved 2023 Rawlings Minor League Gold Glove Award as he’s developed into arguably the Minors’ best defensive catcher. His receiving and blocking – aided by his right-knee-down positioning – can be top-notch, and his framing can look as smooth as it gets. His arm strength and quick reactions behind the plate also helped him throw out 34.6 percent of attempted Double-A basestealers,”

Milwaukee already has one of the best catchers in MLB in 26-year-old William Contreras, a two-time All-Star and 2023 Silver Slugger Award winner who is under team control through the 2027 season. Quero should be ready to replace Jansen and share catching duties with Alejandro Kirk in 2025.

As for Misiorowski, the lanky 6-foot-7 righty was recently promoted to Triple-A in a system that has produced stellar MLB pitching like Corbin Burnes. The 22-year-old posted a 2.97 ERA and 0.99 WHIP over his last 7 starts at Double-A, and features an elite, 100+ mph fastball. After 105 strikeouts in 79.2 innings with a 3.50 ERA over 19 starts for the Double-A Biloxi Shuckers, he has 8 Ks and a 2.70 ERA in his first 6.2 innings with the Triple-A Nashville Sounds.