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The Los Angeles Dodgers have been busy this offseason in defense of their eighth World Series championship from 2024.
The team has signed two-time Cy Young Award winner Blake Snell to bolster their rotation and could be the frontrunner to add international phenom Roki Sasaki to the pitching staff as well. But with the potential loss of slugger Teoscar Hernández, who continues to evaluate his options in free agency, the Dodgers might be looking for a way to improve the batting order too.
Given the Dodgers’ recent interest in a shortstop addition, Zach Pressnell of Newsweek proposed a trade hypothetical tha could bring in another high-upside bat to Los Angeles.
“Los Angeles was rumored to be in on shortstop Willy Adames before he signed with the rival San Francisco Giants,” Pressnell noted. “Now, the Dodgers could pivot to swinging a blockbuster trade for 26-year-old Toronto Blue Jays shortstop Bo Bichette.”
Bichette has been one of baseball’s most productive shortstops in his six-year career with the Blue Jays, making the All-Star game twice in that span. But he slashed just .225/.277/.322 in his worst season yet in 2024, raising some questions about his long-term future in Toronto.
Bichette signed a three-year, $33.6 million contract with the Blue Jays in 2023 and has the chance to earn a larger long-term deal as a free agent after the 2025 season, so the Blue Jays could look to recoup some value for him now, depending on how they envision the longer-term future of the franchise.
But what kind of return would the Blue Jays need to land to trade away Bichette before the final season of his contract? Pressnell suggested that a package of players led by Dodgers starter Bobby Miller might get a deal done.
“For the Blue Jays, the goal would be trading (Bichette) before his value drops any lower,” per Pressnell. “They would be able to land a package from the Dodgers likely centered around another reclamation project: Bobby Miller.”
The likelihood of such a deal would largely depend on the other pieces of such a package and whether or not the Blue Jays really see Miller as an equivalent “reclamation” to Bichette. Miller posted an 8.52 ERA this past season amid significant injury struggles, which might scare prospective trade suitors away.
But if the Dodgers can negotiate a deal that swaps one of their injury-laden starter options for some big-league ready infield talent, they should jump at the chance.
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Peter Chawaga is a veteran journalist covering Major League Baseball for The Sporting News. His MLB reporting has included feature interviews with commissioner Rob Manfred and Hall of Fame slugger David Ortiz, salary analysis, player rankings and more. He has covered baseball for Forbes, Yardbarker, Pitcher List, Athlon and other outlets.
With over ten years of newsroom experience, he has previously covered finance, technology, arts, and culture for newspapers, magazines, and websites nationwide. He graduated from Wake Forest University with a degree in English and journalism.
English (US)