Blue Jays-Tigers trade idea sees Toronto cut ties with $33 million two-time All-Star

The Detroit Tigers and Toronto Blue Jays are squaring off in a three-game series this weekend, and the Tigers unquestionably have the upper hand.

Detroit won game one on Friday night by a final of 5-4, making them the first team in Major League Baseball this season to reach 30 wins. Meanwhile, the Blue Jays are two games under .500 and can't seem to forge any sort of identity.

After selling at the trade deadline last year, there's little doubt that the Tigers will be buyers this time around. The Blue Jays, who also sold, are much more on the fence at this stage of the game.

If Toronto does wind up selling once again, one baseball writer sees a player Detroit may want to scout a little more closely than usual this weekend.

On Friday, Drew VonScio of Newsweek suggested Blue Jays shortstop Bo Bichette as a trade target for the Tigers, as the two-time All-Star is set to become a free agent at the end of the season.

"The 27-year-old shortstop is set to receive a big payday at the end of the season as he enters free agency. If the Tigers were to push for Bichette, they would owe him the remainder of $17.58 million this season and get the first crack at signing him long term," VonScio wrote.

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"Bichette would be a player who steps in right away and makes an impact on this Tigers roster. His bat, combined with Javier Baez's bounce-back season, would give the Tigers a strong combination in the lineup in addition to Spencer Torkelson."

Bichette hit his fourth home run of the season on Friday night and his OPS has climbed all the way up to .780. That's nearing the low .800s range he reached in his two All-Star seasons (2021 and 2022), which has to be dramatically inflating his trade value.

Though Toronto might not want to cut ties with Bichette, they might get a sense that he's seeking a contract value they're not comfortable paying in free agency after the Vladimir Guerrero Jr. extension.

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