Bo Bichette is telling interested teams that he’s willing to sign as a second baseman, reports Mark Feinsand of MLB.com. That’s not especially surprising but theoretically opens his market.
Bichette’s defensive fit has been the biggest question of his free agency process. He has played 6184 career regular season innings, all of them at shortstop. Public metrics haven’t looked favorably upon his work. Statcast has graded Bichette as an average or worse defender for virtually his entire career. Defensive Runs Saved was more positive over his first few seasons but has had him in the red in three of the past four years. Going back to 2023, he’s fifth from the bottom at the position with -15 Outs Above Average. DRS has him tied for eighth worst with a -11 mark.
It’s more a problem of range than any concern about his hands. He has only committed 11 fielding errors over the last three years, which isn’t many for a player who has logged almost 3000 innings at the infield’s most demanding position. He’s tied for ninth with 16 throwing errors in that stretch. He ranks middle of the pack in arm strength and is a below-average runner who doesn’t have great mobility. Statcast has graded him particularly poorly on batted balls by right-handed hitters, which a move to the opposite side of the diamond could mitigate.
Bichette could probably play an average or better second base. He made 30 appearances there in the minor leagues and more famously played there five times during this year’s World Series. Those were his first games back after a six-week absence due to a sprained ligament in his left knee. Bichette was clearly hampered physically and would have been a designated hitter if the Blue Jays didn’t have George Springer. Toronto needed to find somewhere to play Bichette to get his bat back in the lineup, but they kept Andrés Giménez at shortstop.
[Related: The Best Fits For Bichette]
Giménez is a superior defender even if Bichette is fully healthy. Very few middle infielders can match Bichette on the other side of the ball. He’s a career .294/.337/.469 hitter who has been a well above-average offensive player in every season besides 2024. He had a remarkable performance in the World Series, collecting eight hits (including a monster Game 7 home run off Shohei Ohtani) despite the knee pain.
There aren’t many teams actively seeking shortstop upgrades. The Padres, Rays, Guardians, Brewers, Marlins and Pirates could all improve the position. None of them are going to meet a potential $200MM+ asking price. Toronto would be better suited with Giménez at shortstop and Bichette at second base, though GM Ross Atkins suggested early in the offseason that they’d be willing to keep their old infield arrangement if Bichette wanted to stick at shortstop. Aside from the Jays, the Yankees and Tigers might’ve been the only teams that could plausibly offer Bichette a huge contract to play short.
Fielding interest as a second baseman could bring in teams like the Giants, Angels, Red Sox and Dodgers. It’s sensible to hear teams out even if only to expand the market. Last offseason’s top free agent shortstop, Willy Adames, expressed a similar willingness to move to second or third base. He wound up staying at his usual position with the Giants but commanded a seven-year contract despite San Francisco being the only high-spending club in need of a shortstop.
Wherever they’ll pay the most.
Cashman wants Yankees to be more right handed. Jazz can be traded now if Yankees find money for Bo.
Zero chance Bo is going to NY
He’s streaky, he’s not going to put up with the fan base turning on him every 2 week slump
Yeah but when he heats up his bat is the best in baseball.
Best? Are you Bo’s agent?
It’s called regular season.
Do you watch him play? He’s definitely not a streaky hitter.
It’s just a leverage attempt to get more $ out of the Jays. While I can see big offers from other clubs, I see him just going back to Toronto.
-Dusty- Yeah I really hope you’re right. I can’t even tell you how much. Please keep Bo Bichette as far away from the Yankees as possible. No need for him here. 🙏
Why bother having opinions so easily destroyed by simple facts ?
Here’s Bo’s wrc+ by month last year and 2023.
• Mar/Apr: 93
• May: 132
• June: 88
• July: 162
• August: 168
March/April: 138
• May: 157
• June: 99
• July: 137
• August: 64
• September/October: 97
I’d rather have Bo in the playoffs instead of Judge- there’s absolutely zero comparison, especially with the bat!!!
Can’t even get to the playoffs without judge.
True about Yankee fans but all hitters are streaky to some degree. Nature of the game.
But he is presently the best contact hitter in baseball, or at least top 3, so he would be embraced anywhere if it ends up not being in T.O.
He doesn’t walk and he’s not selective, he’s prone to extremes because some times the ball finds grass and sometimes it doesn’t.
I’m a big fan of Bo’s but his legs have aged so quickly, I don’t know how much value he will provide outside of his hit tool for too much longer
Would have been nice of you to label which was 2024 and which was 2023, and to note Bichette was injured through most of 2024 and recovered to a career standard in 2025 before the injury against the Yankees in September (when he was again leading the league in hits — his 3rd time doing so).. But sure, offer your simple facts, which are meaningless without context. Agenda much?
Au contraire He burns out pitchers with his selectivity and his bat control is superb. Other teams should offer him over $250 million for 10 years. If they do, the Jays will match and surpass.
It was 2025 and 2023, the first being 2025. I didn’t add 2024 because he was injured and wasn’t good.
I love how my stats are meaningless but then you offer no rebuttal just emotional drivel and then accuse others of not having context and agenda?
Well done overall, you really changed minds
Ah I see, you’re just a troll, got it
Yes I too am a big fan of him but you do make a good point about his mobility. I think the front half of his contract will be a fantastic deal (for whichever team signs him) not so much the back end of it.
Bo is overhyped imo. I’ve never been a big fan, plus him coming to a division rival seems like something he wouldn’t do tbh.
Jazz was one of the best 2nd baseman in the league if not the best. Had a 30-30 season and then played great defense and you want to trade him?
I’d rather have Jazz than Bo.
For one more year
Jazz has a lot of talent but he has a very small baseball IQ.
I am also open to playing second base
I heard you were a catcher
Hey now
I kinda assumed he was always gonna identify as and teams would be likely to view him as a second basemen when he got to free agency, so this is a ‘no duh’ revelation in the Bo Bichette marketplace.
Correction: Bo is being told by teams he’s going to play 2B.
Haha, pretty much. But I think deep down, Bo probably knew it was coming and is probably fine with it.
Hey, his bat is premier. At second base or in my garage.
There was no harm in him and his agent seeing if there were any takers at short. This does seem to indicate that he may not have gotten the offers he was hoping for.
This probably bodes well for the Jays. They almost certainly want him at second, so if a team had come in with a good short stop offer, he may have left town.
Sounds like it. He could absolutely get a deal with someone as a shortstop, but the list would be shorter. Some shortstops Je…. errr, have been a bit stubborn about it.
He will look nice in Angels red!
Angels are all in on Grissom and need him to hit like he did in the minors.
They have to find a reliable third baseman. They should be all in on a long term deal for Miguel Andujar. Id sign Andujar for 5 yrs and 75M.
No ABS in ’27
Angels are all in on Grissom
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At what position?
I imagine 2B – You have to DH Soler. Trout has to play in the OF with Adell.
Three spots open in LF/CF, 3B and 2B to fill.
Grissom, Moore, Paris and Rada are the top internal options. If Rada can break camp and Grissom can hold down 2B, only have to add a 3B. Rada has to be the guy in CF if the Angels are going to win.
Andujar would be a good fit, 5yrs at a 15M AAV could be looked at as high for a guy who has only played one full season since ’20 but he could easily play up to that contract. 27HRs as a rookie. .318 BA last season. Reliable isnt exactly a good way to describe his career but its a gamble that could pay off big. I wouldn’t be surprised to see him get 2 yrs / 40M especially after Kim for signed 1yr/40M.
I think Id risk it if 5/75M, he probably passes on that for the short term deal and how could you blame him but 5/90M might get it done. Thats some risk but compared to what Bichette, Bregman and others are projected to get, there is still potentially value in that deal. Interesting player.
What choice do you think he has? His bat is great, but his defense at SS is unacceptable. I seriously believe every team expects him to switch to second base and only play SS in emergency situations.
Great, now the Mets are in.
Mets just added Semien.
How so? Seems the Mets just traded for a 2B with a relatively hefty contract of his own…
A great second baseman is not a consolation prize, it’s a weapon.
If Pitt was willing to give Schwarber big money maybe they’re also in on the Bichette sweepstakes? Would be a difference maker in that division. Although Pittsburghs starting rotation might prefer he play 2B too
Even if PIT was high bidder I’m not sure Bichette would sign there, and I’m not being facetious.
The market has been so quiet for him and Tucker. Makes me hopeful some of the small/mid market teams will try and swoop in like Baltimore did with Alonso
I suspect most teams don’t believe he’d go anywhere but Toronto, so why waste the time and effort on a failed bid? Saying he’d 2B broadens his market, yes, but it’s also where the Blue Jays would likely want to play him. So, Advantage Blue Jays. They have the money and the familiarity with how they handle injury recovery and training. He lives in the off-season only a few miles from the Blue Jays state-of-the-art facility.at Dunedin, Florida.
Biggest question for me if pulls the trigger before or after Christmas…
The Pirates have Skenes, Jared Jones, Bubba Chandler and more young pitching behind them including my breakout candidate Braxton Ashcraft (if given the opportunity). They’ve got the consensus #1 prospect (Konnor Griffin). They just need more offensive output. Bichette would help tremendously in that regard.
I love your enthusiasm. Pirates are doing the Pirate thing like every other year. Bare minimum improvements, appear effortlessly trying to sign some top names, and making moves through trades. Same song and dance to entice season ticket holders to keep those tickets.
Offensive woes may continue if the Pirates don’t add another bat. That Garcia trade looks beautiful, but relying on a kid with 80 AB at the MLB level, is foolish pride. I’d take Saurez at 3B still or even DH (doesn’t look like McCutchen is returning). Hypothetically speaking, Bo would make sense at 2B for the Pirates as Nick Gonzales and Tsuing Che Chen could play SS. Neither may not be much better at SS though. Bringing back IKF makes sense at SS until Konnor Griffin is ready. They just won’t sign both Saurez or Bichette because that would push their payroll way beyond 120 million. Pirates never went above 93 million before selling off. I don’t see it happening regardless of this “we have money to spend” circus that is going around by the Pirates brass.
Just buckle up for the ride!
Is there news on McCutchen? I’m not in Pirate-land but hadn’t seen anything one way or another except for the assumption that he’d probably return “as usual”.
The Pirates are gonna surprise everyone by signing Skubal so they won’t need any offense!
He will sign with the Red Sox before the weekend is up, 6yrs with a 7th yr team option, $200m
I’d take Bo over Bregman
@patpariot, absolutely
Would you rather have Bo over Marte ?
Bo, 100%
I’m sure he’d prefer shortstop but I don’t think he’s the kind of guy who’d put up a fight about it. Seems like a real team guy who just wants to win, and I think he’s known for awhile that the move to 2B was coming sooner or later.
I think he wants to get paid above all else.
Wish the Giants would lay out the dough for him. Boy, would that be a lineup.
He’s getting paid regardless, he probably wants to win and maybe be a big deal
9/252 should get it done.
Make some memories Buster !
They’d be regretting that before too long.
Too long = ?
That’s the gamble for sure.
If SFG really wants him though they will need to overpay. Add a year and add 1m AAV to whatever you think he will get.
Unfortunate, but pitchers park, Bay Area real estate, etc..
There doesnt seem to be many teams that need a SS and are willing/able to spend the money Bichette will cost. Id be suprised if he isnt a SS next year, but this could bring in another team or 2 to at least drive the price up for whoever hes playing SS for next year.
Sounds like you read the article above. Well done!
Will Bo take a high AAV deal with deferrals like Bregman last offseason?
The Jays should go big game hunting for Tucker. Clement plays 2B, Gimenez SS, Barger 3B.
If they go internal like that, I’d think it would be Ernie at short and Gimenez at 2nd, where he’s a 3x GG. Gimenez is fine at short, but he’s better at 2nd, while Ernie is basically great anywhere.
Guess you didn’t watch the playoffs, if they felt that was the best defensive alignment they may have went with it.
Will work for food
I do get the sense his destiny this off season is an Alex Bregman style deal of an extra high AAV on 3-4 years with a bunch of opt outs included.
3 years/$90M to 3 years/$112.5M depending on how competitive the market will be for his services.
And I think he’ll basically be worth whatever on a deal under 4 years. I think even a 4 year deal would be okay… but even that fourth year, I’d assume could represent the beginning of the decline.
3/90 is light. 3/120 is closer.
Nobody in their right mind is paying him $40 million a year.
3/118?
Bregman got it
#TrillionaireTeamOperator
His age on a short term, high AAV with optouts just might be the way for him to go. Good point.
Why wouldn’t he get a much longer contract? He’s only 27, with a somewhat reliable injury history. I’m guessing 6-7 years.
@JoeBrady
A short-term contract with opt-outs and higher AAV means more money in the short-term with the opportunity to enter FA while still in his prime. If he can go a year or two without hitting the IL, that only helps his payday.
I don’t think Bo will sign until after Tucker does. Tucker is Toronto’s first choice, with Bo as the backup.
Source?
A guy three stools over at Larry’s bar and grill.
Go get him, Buster!
Move the worst defensive short stop last year to another position?
But is he willing to he paid like a 2B?
Irrelevant what he’s willing to get paid. He’s a price taker. What’s he going to do sit out? It’s clear that he will need to move to 2B as he’s not a very good SS. He will make great money and feel much better contributing on the field as a 2B.
Like an inflation-adjusted Robinson Cano, sure.
Can Bo play both 2b and 3b?
If the Mariners would pony up $30 mill/year, he’d be a fit.
@Bookbook
He doesn’t have the arm for 3B.
Bo’s a lot like Polanco. Bad infielder with a history of lower body issues. Knee most recently. The Mariners signed Polanco last year with the intention of playing him at 3B thinking that 3B would be less stressful on his knee than 2B. That didn’t work out great but at least they had DH playing time available to keep Polanco’s bat in the lineup. Would that failed attempt change their thinking? Do they still have DH available if they wanted to make the same type of move? Bk could still play the field on days they wanted Cal to DH. I’ve always thought he was a good fit for Seattle. Hard line drives and contact play well in a HR suppressing park. Seattle just went to game 7 of the ALCS. They got a lot of extra postseason revenue. Maybe they have a little extra money for the right opportunity.
Mets want to know if he’ll play LF…
This dude hits 20 HR a year and yet he wants more money than Willy Adames got, who hit 30 twice before reaching free agency. Hmm.
Adames has a career 109 OPS+
Hits for higher average and don’t strike out as much though. But, ya prices keep going up on these guys every year.
You forgot the 40+ doubles
HRs are not everything unless you’re Joey Gallo.
If Range is his problem why would he suddenly become average at 2B? He will still have bad range.
shortstops need to cover more ground. that’s part of why it’s the premium defensive position.
I’m calling it right now. Bo will be wearing LA on his cap.
Nope, the Dodgers won’t make a dumb signing like this.
I’d much rather acquire Bichette for 2B than Bellinger or Tucker in the OF for the going rates. Much better value for Bichette. They’ll still need to address the OF but better off doing that via a trade.
As a Jays fan….it was apparent that he wasn’t happy in Toronto. I figured he’d sign with the Dodgers, who need a to fill a spot at 2nd base.
The optics of doing this aren’t good.
Bo has never intimated or suggested that he wasn’t happy in Toronto.
You must have extra sensory perception skills. Buy a lot of lottery tix?
.
It’s interesting, as a Mariners fan, to see what happens here. If the Jays sign Tucker, then Bo is likely not going to be a Jay. In which case… is he worth 8/200? I don’t think so. But when February comes, does he figure out how to get a 3=year, first-year mutual option deal for $20 million per? $18? $15? 🍿🍿🍿
It’s so strange seeing the Padres listed as a team meeting a shortstop. It wasn’t long ago when their entire position player group was all former shortstops.
As they have done it before, why is it strange now?
Being that they still have many of those former shortstops, they could just plug one of them into the position.
The padres are not looking for a shortstop.
That’s just this dudes wild opinion. If he is suggesting Bo would be an upgrade, okay I can say that about a lot more teams than were listed.
Perhaps this comes from that Lindor rumor which has been put to bed. Xander had a 3.2 fwar, Bo 3.8 fwar.
The last 3 years Bo 3.9, 03, 3.8 projected 3.6 in 2026 total of 8.2 war
Xander last 3 years 4.6, 2.0, 3.2 projected 3.4 in 2026. Total of 9.8 war. Those years are as a padre.
If you want to go back 4 years it only gets better for Xander.
Xander gets a pretty bad rep from his length of his contract and a dip from his Boston days. He is still a good player. Paid about what he should be in today’s market. The only issue with Xander is for how many more years can that be said. Time will tell.
Paid about what he should be in today’s market. The only issue with Xander is for how many more years can that be said.
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Those are two sides of the same coin. Bogaerts is flat-out a $35M*8 contract, spread out over 11 years for CBT purposes. And $35M is expensive for his talent.
I mean if the Astros could get Altuve to retire and leave all the money on the table, Bo would be a nice replacement 😃
I’m not really sure how much he’ll get paid. If he’s only seen as viable as playing 2B, he will definitely get less money. Maybe 7/220 type of thing? I’ve really no idea, 2B don’t generally command a huge payday. $30 mil per for a 2B is really going much higher then anyone else has been paid before to play it.
If the Yanks signed Bo then they might as well stick him at SS for 2025, especially since Volpe will be injured to start the season. Figure things out later.
No just driving the bidding up to resign with his former team just like Schwarber did.
Bo ^^^
C’mon Rockies, get this done. We need to make sure “Bichette happens” again in Denver. Tover and Bichette would make for a great DP combo over the rest of the decade.
^Wishful thinking.
Bo looked slower even before last year’s knee injury. He has to be open to 2B as teams aren’t certain he can hold up at short. 3 consecutive years with a lower body injury. Really doesn’t have the arm strength for 3B.
I don’t really understand the “he doesn’t have the arm strength for 3B” sentiment. He has the same arm strength as Bregman. Better than Hayes or Clement who were gold glove winner and finalist at 3B last year. Maybe he doesn’t have enough arm strength to make up for other shortcomings at the position. Or maybe it’s more about throwing accuracy than raw arm strength. But I don’t think arm strength is as much of a requirement at 3B as people seem to think. At least according to Statcast. There are some excellent 3B where the cannon is a feature. But lots of guys with well below average arm strength play the position well. He doesn’t have much lateral range at all. To me, that means he doesn’t profile well as a middle infielder. At 3B a much lesser percentage of plays are going to his right which feels like a particular weakness of his and means more throws are going to be with his momentum moving towards 1B. If Bo wanted to up his market, it feels like 3B is a position with less supply and therefore is worth more if you can do it. Maybe if a team is happy to just project how he’ll play as a 2B and just give him the Story or Adames contract, it doesn’t matter. But I do wonder if he’s having a hard time finding those deals and might do the short term high AAV thing. If he goes that route, proving capable at 3B feels like the better shot at a more lucrative deal next year.
If you put Bo and Bregman at the same spot, no crow hop, and just threw the ball you’ll see Bregman’s arm is better than Bo’s. Same goes for Clement. Do not get caught up in the mph for each throw. It is misleading. They do not have the same starting points pitchers do. Bo’s never been able to make the hard throws top shortstops can and it’ll much tougher with age.
I don’t know. He’s not a great thrower but the arm strength measurements must be even more in favour of a 3B who has lots of time to set his feet and make the throw compared to a SS who has to get a throw off quickly and Bo’s arm strength measurements are a few mph higher than Hayes and Clement. SS requires more arm strength because even though the average throw distance is similar, SSs have the longest throws as well as the most difficult ones with less time to get the throw off.
Not that I think he’s a good thrower for a SS, but if the arm doesn’t disqualify him from SS consideration, it shouldn’t disqualify him from 3B either.
Personally, I don’t see any reason to believe his 1st percentile range is going to play up at 2B. I’m not worried about his arm strength at 3B. I’d just be worried about how well he’d field the hot shots. When he gets hard hit grounders at SS, even with the extra distance from playing deep, he tends to look like a matador trying to get out of the way and swiping at it from the side. I think he’s ultimately just a DH or oddly shaped 1B like Polanco or Arraez. If you’re a team that is good at positioning your fielders and have a rangy SS that can help in a shift, you can probably put Bo at 2B for a couple of years. But I don’t think a team that has the bottom of the defensive spectrum tied up long term is really a team that wants to give him a longer deal. Maybe if he shows some proof that he could be a capable defender at an easier position on a pillow deal first.
There are plays SS’s make that Bo does not. Those who’ve watched Bo has seen in recent years not attempt a throw knowing he can’t make said throw. That will also help his MPH, mislead people into thinking his arm strength is better than people realize because analytics say so.
Lower body injuries are the bigger issue. Even with his arm he could have continued at short for another few years. Certainly a better option than Gimenez. But what’s going on with the knees are a big issue. Could Bo play passable 3B? Arm stuff aside, yes.
He doesn’t get to balls that require said hard throws. But the measurements aren’t an average of all throws. Just the average of their top 5% of throws. So if Bo’s hardest 5% are the same as Bregman’s hardest 5%, and 3 mph faster than Hayes’ top 5%, and 2 mph faster than Clement’s top 5%, the arm strength itself isn’t the reason he can’t play 3B. Throwing accuracy might be. Fielding high exit velo hot shots might be. But your point about the knee and calf and whatever else he’s dealt with that have all his athletic measurements tanking over the last three seasons make me think that 2B isn’t the right position for him if you are accepting bad defensive performance no matter where you put him but are trying to keep the bat in the lineup. The Mariners thought 3B would protect Polanco’s knee more than 2B. But that didn’t work for him. Realistically, if you believe in the bat and are paying mostly for it, you have to protect his lower body somehow.
To me that’s a team that doesn’t have DH locked up. Not the Dodgers, Jays, Yankees, Phillies, and probably Mets and Giants too. That’s all the biggest spenders. Boston? They could probably play him on the infield and move Rafaela to 2B on days they want Bo to DH I guess? Atlanta? Do they want another high injury risk player and then just rotate everyone through DH? If Seattle was interested in bringing Polanco back, could they find a couple extra dollars to afford Bo? I think Bo could be used exactly how Polanco was. Maybe this is Pittsburgh or Cincinatti’s chance to make a splash on a short term pillow deal.
It’s still misleading. Because if a shortstop cannot make certain plays good to great shortstops can’t make because they eat the ball rather than throw it, that is a problem. You also cannot decipher max effort. Bo, correctly, ate balls instead of throwing many times.
Wouldn’t making the hardest throws inflate his arm strength measurement rather than deflate it? They can’t decipher max effort which is why the methodology only considers the top 5%. Even if he ate 100 balls more than his peers, do you think his next hardest 5 throws would bring his arm strength measurement down considerably?
I guess you could argue that it’s an apples to oranges comparison because a SS is required to make hard throws more often than a 3B so his average throws are going to be higher velo than a 3B’s but if a 3B has to make a hard throw less than 5% of the time, then that also makes the claim that he doesn’t have the arm for 3B a bit faulty too since 3B don’t require strong throws often. I think fans who topped out at an amateur level put more stock in 3B arm strength than it merits since it’s a threshold thing at that level. Any major leaguer has enough arm strength to play 3B at the amateur level. 3B in the majors generally have lots of time to make the throw, are throwing from the infield grass or barely on the dirt for a very high percentage of their plays, are moving to their left more often than right. The average throw might be longer than the rest of the infield. But usually with more time to make it. So throwing accuracy is more important than raw arm strength. The biggest reason a 3B might need great arm strength is that with shifts, they are often positioned like a SS. But in those situations, you are making a bet on the percentages anyway.
Do you think that playing 2B will lower his asking price?
I don’t think asking price matters. I think a team’s valuation matters. I do think that’s affected by the position and how well they project him to play there. What his threshold is on a long term deal might be the biggest factor in his control. He might have to weigh total guarantee vs AAV and betting on himself to raise his stock for another crack at a bigger payday in free agency.
I don’t think so, he is saying that to increase his market size. You only do that to increase your asking price.
His offensive profile is what teams would be paying for. 2b was a really low offensive position last year.
Perception is yes. But his price will decrease if teams are concerned over his recent lower body injuries, starting near the end of 2023.
Breslow on line 1 to say that he’s “interested.”
Bo bichette =‘s Carlos baerga 2.0
I really hope the Jays Resign Bo. He is and always was the most Clutch player on the team. He always gets the big hits when needed. And if he wasn’t hurt during the playoffs I figure the Jays would of won the WS.
Smells like a Xander Bo’Garts terrible contract
Pipe dream, but I would love to see Bichette in Colorado. When Ethan Holliday makes the big club in 3-4 years Bichette/Holliday would be great. Both spent their childhood running around Coors Field. Holliday,Tovar, Bichette sounds like a solid part of the infield.
Tigers
1 year
$27M
lol if this was even remotely close to an option he wouldn’t be signing with the tigers