Bo Bichette Reportedly Open To Playing Second Base

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.