Does A Guardians Trade For Bo Bichette Make Sense?
The MLB trade deadline is still two months away. However, the teams that could become buyers and sellers are becoming clearer as we’re about a third of the way through the season.
Identifying which teams fall in what category is how trades transpire and the Cleveland Guardians and Toronto Blue Jays could become a perfect trade partners this summer.
ESPN’s Jeff Passan recently identified the Guardians as “likely adders” at the deadline. In his assessment of where the Guardians stand, he mentioned that they could look to upgrade their infield and " there might not be a better fit at the deadline" than current Blue Jays shortstop Bo Bichette
Like many trades, whether a deal is worth it could come down to Toronto’s asking price in terms of return for Bo. However, if we’re simply analyzing whether or not this potential acquisition helps Cleveland win short term, then a trade for Bichette makes total sense for the Guardians.
Bichette is currently hitting .238/.288/.345 with an OPS of .633 including four home runs and 25 RBI this season. No one is going to deny that Bo is having a down year, but he has built up a respectable big league track record since his call-up in 2019.
The 26-year-old shortstop has a career slash line of .294/.335/.474 and a .808 OPS over five and half seasons. Bichette is a two-time All-Star and led the league in hits in 2021 (191) and 2022 (189).
Perhaps a change of scenery is exactly what he needs to reignite his career.
Sure, an argument can be made that the Guardians don’t need another shortstop. There’s been discourse for years about Cleveland having too many middle infielders in their system including Angel Martinez, Brayan Rocchio, Gabriel Arias, Jose Tena, and now Daniel Schneeman is emerging as potentially a major league-caliber player.
While the defense has been above average, the lack of offense the Guardians have gotten from the position has turned into an issue so far this year.
Rocchio has taken the majority of the reps at short but has a batting average of .201 and a slugging percentage of .258 which comes out to an OPS+ of 66. Arias has provided a little more pop when he’s at the plate but still has an OBP of .246 and a strikeout percentage of 31.2.
Bichette would be a massive upgrade in Cleveland’s lineup.
The Guardians don’t often make moves with just the rest of the season in mind. Typically, any player they acquire is under team control for the foreseeable future. That’s not quite the case with Bichette as he’s set to become a free agent at the end of the 2025 season.
Still, this gives the Guardians potentially two postseasons with Bichette as their shortstop.
The bottom line is that Cleveland has put itself in a great position to return to the playoffs this October. However, they need to make some upgrades if they want to advance in a postseason series.
A trade for Bichette would count at that enhancement and his presence in the lineup fills one of the team’s current needs.
TOMMY WILD