Potential Braves Trade Target 'As Good As Gone' With Current MLB Team

USA Today's Bob Nightengale reported a 2-Time All-Star and projected Atlanta Braves trade target has no real interest in returning to his current MLB club.

Toronto Blue Jays shortstop Bo Bichette / John E. Sokolowski-Imagn Images

The Atlanta Braves could use an upgrade at shortstop. Fans in Braves Country hoping that upgrade could come in the form of Bo Bichette received a glimmer of hope this week.

On Jan. 7, USA Today's Bob Nightengale all but closed the door on Bichette returning to the Toronto Blue Jays on his next contract.

"This is the final year before Vladimir Guerrero and Bo Bichette leave town as free agents," wrote Nightengale.

"Bichette is as good as gone, with no real interest in returning, friends say."

Nightengale didn't 100% clarify, but his sentence implied Bichette is set to depart the Blue Jays once his contract expires. That will be after the 2025 season.

If Toronto has already come to terms with that pending departure, it would make sense for the organization to trade Bichette this offseason. Multiple pundits have named the Braves as a potential landing spot if that happens.

Braves shortstop Orlando Arcia struggled at the plate during the 2024 season, posting just a .625 OPS. At least on paper, Bichette would offer an offensive upgrade over Arcia.

There's several factors, though, that have to be considered before our staff at Atlanta Braves on SI supports the idea of the team acquiring Bichette.

For one, Bichette is due to make roughly $17.6 million in 2025. Just about every single one of Atlanta's moves (or lack of moves) this offseason have indicated that the organization is avoiding sizeable contracts like that for new players.

Therefore, for Bichette to land in Atlanta, the Blue Jays may have to agree to keep a big chunk of the shortstop's contract.

The trade compensation could also be a point of contention. Atlanta Braves on SI's Harrison Smajovits argued Atlanta should not trade a left-handed pitching prospect, particularly one of their top lefties such as 2024 first-round pick Cam Caminiti.

The better prospect the Braves give up in a potential deal, the more money on Bichette's contract the Blue Jays are likely going to have to eat.

Finally, it's worth asking if Bichette is actually an upgrade over Arcia. Yes, Bichette dealt with injuries last season, but he hit .225 with a .598 OPS -- 27 points lower than Arcia's putrid OPS.

Bichette was an All-Star in 2023, but so was Arcia.

The hope after Nightengale's report about Bichette being on his way out of Toronto is that the Blue Jays become so desperate to dump the shortstop this offseason that he becomes an easy trade target for the Braves. But there's still nothing stopping Toronto from keeping the shortstop one more season and then simply letting him depart in free agency.