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

Atlanta Braves

After never once consummating a trade with former Blue Jays general manager Alex Anthopoulos since he left town, could that end with a Bichette trade to Atlanta? Braves shortstop Orlando Arcia has a DRS of +1 and and fWAR of only 0.5 this season, the lowest of any qualified SS. The 30-year-old has struggled to a .224/.271/.348 slash line, good for an OPS of .619 and OPS+ of 71, well below league average. Bichette would be a huge upgrade to their middle infield.

Rumour has it that it was Anthopoulos’ head scout, Brian Parker, who argued for the pick of highschooler Bichette at No. 66 in the 2016 amateur draft, when Shapiro and general manager Ross Atkins wanted to draft a college-aged player. Parker’s subsequent firing only added fuel to that fire.

And while the Braves system isn’t highly rated, it has produced a steady stream of MLB-ready talent over the past few seasons, including Spencer Strider, Michael Harris II, Spencer Schwellenbach and Bryce Elder.

Their top rated catching prospect is Drake Baldwin, a 23-year-old left-handed hitter with a overall scouting grade of 50. He ranked No. 3 on BA’s ranking of the Braves system, and appears to be MLB-ready after slashing .311/.429/.492 for an OPS of .921 for the Triple-A Gwinnett Stripers, with 8 home runs and 39 RBI in 177 at bats.

If he was packaged along with top Atlanta prospect AJ Smith-Shawver, ranked No. 86 overall on BA’s top 100 prospect ranking, it might be a deal the Blue Jays couldn’t refuse. The 21-year-old Smith-Shawver already has 29.2 MLB innings under his belt, pitching to a 3.64 ERA in seven games (6 starts). While’s he’s struggled to a 5.61 ERA in 14 starts and only 51.1 innings at Gwinnett this year after landing on the injured list for over a month with a strained left oblique, he does have 63 strikeouts.

What do you think Blue Jays fans? What’s a trade offer for Bo Bichette this coming offseason that you couldn’t refuse?