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Want a star shortstop entering his prime? Meet Bo Bichette.
The career Toronto Blue Jays shortstop is among the best at his position, a vibrant, right-handed hitter and a two-time All-Star. Following a seven-week absence due to a knee injury, Bichette hit .348 in Toronto’s crushing, seven-game 2025 World Series loss to the Los Angeles Dodgers and will be 28 at the start of the 2026 MLB season. Translation: Bo’s getting a nine-figure contract this offseason.
Here are the three best fits for Bichette should he depart Toronto.
Bo Bichette led the American League in hits in both 2021 and 2022. (Photo by Daniel Shirey/MLB Photos via Getty Images)
Milwaukee was third in MLB in runs (806) in the regular season but then scored just one run per game in the National League Championship Series, in what was a four-game sweep at the hands of the Dodgers. If the Brewers are ever going to get over the hump in the postseason, they have to make a concerted effort to acquire impact hitters. Bichette fits the bill.
The scrappy Bichette hits for both contact and power, logs extra-base hits at a high rate and can hit at or near the top of a contending offense. Sure, Milwaukee has a handful of internal options at shortstop, but none of them rake like Bichette. More importantly, these players have versatility; Joey Ortiz has started at both shortstop and third base; Andruw Monasterio plays shortstop, second and third base; third baseman Caleb Durbin was primarily a second baseman in the minor leagues.
Bichette would be Milwaukee’s full-time shortstop for the foreseeable future and provide needed power to an offense that was just 22nd in home runs (166) and ninth out of 12 playoff teams in slugging percentage (.403) in 2025.
What could potentially hinder a full-blown Bichette pursuit by the Brewers, though, is them viewing the versatility of the previously mentioned players and their collective offensive youth as reason to bank on internal growth, rather than having to bypass it with a free-agent signing – and Milwaukee can spend elsewhere.
Bo Bichette played second base for the first time in his MLB career in the 2025 World Series. (Photo by Steve Russell/Toronto Star via Getty Images)
The Braves just missed the playoffs for the first time in eight years and only one team in their division – the Philadelphia Phillies, in the NL East – made the playoffs. If Atlanta fills some voids and gets healthy, it can get back in the NL pennant mix, and signing Bichette would be an emphatic step back in that direction.
Ha-Seong Kim opted out of his contract for 2026; Orlando Arcia is gone; while Nick Allen is a great defensive shortstop, he has been unable to gain traction in the batter’s box. In summation: Bichette would be a stellar pickup for Atlanta and a definitive, long-term answer at shortstop.
An infield that features Bichette, Matt Olson, Austin Riley and Ozzie Albies would be one of the elite combinations in the sport, while Bichette adds an impact hitter to an Atlanta offense that was 13th in runs (724), tied for 14th in slugging percentage (.399) and home runs (190) and 15th in hits (1,349) last season. A spark is needed in Atlanta, and Bichette checks all the boxes.
There’s just a team that Bichette would have a bigger impact on.
Bo Bichette boasts a career 121 OPS+. (Photo by Daniel Shirey/MLB Photos via Getty Images)
Bichette is just what the doctor ordered for the Guards.
In 2025, Cleveland was last in MLB in hits (1,199), 29th in on-base percentage (.296), tied for 28th in slugging percentage (.373), outright 28th in runs (643) and 20th in home runs (168). How did it fare? The Guardians won the AL Central with 88 wins and lost in three games to the Detroit Tigers in the Wild Card Series. With just a little more offensive amplitude, Cleveland advances to the Division Series and is on the same level as several AL contenders.
Of late, the Guardians have shuffled Gabriel Arias, Brayan Rocchio and Daniel Schneeman at the middle-infield positions. While the three of them are still in the early stages of their respective MLB careers, none of them have yet flashed upside to become the hitter that Bichette is.
Another possibility is one of Arias or Rocchio blossoms and Cleveland moves Bichette to second base, which is where he played for the Blue Jays in the World Series while coming back from his knee injury. Granted, the Guardians have obvious visions of Travis Bazzana, whom they selected with the No. 1 pick in the 2024 MLB Draft, being their everyday second baseman in the near future.
At present, Jose Ramirez is one of the faces of the sport and Kyle Manzardo has legitimate power. Maybe a healthy Jhonkensy Noel and David Fry provide pop in 2026? Either way, there are minimal players in this order who are striking fear into the opposition outside of Ramirez. Getting somebody on base in front of Ramirez for him to drive in and generate offense on their own, too, is essential for Cleveland. Bichette would move the needle.
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