This entire season for the Toronto Blue Jays, it feels like the vultures have been circling/
A few years ago, the Blue Jays were thought to have one of Major League Baseball's most exciting young cores. That core has netted them two playoff appearances with zero wins, and now the window looks as though it's begun to close.
Thankfully, the Blue Jays locked up Vladimir Guerrero Jr. And at three games over .500, they've managed to stay afloat despite some head-scratching performances on both sides of the ball. But shortstop Bo Bichette is the biggest question mark.
Because Bichette is headed to free agency after the season, Toronto has to decide whether to extend him, trade him, or let him walk for nothing. Keeping him at the top of the order is a priority as long as the team believes it can make the playoffs, but for how long will that last?
Meanwhile, on Wednesday, Bailey Bassett of ClutchPoints suggested that the Blue Jays could unload Bichette to the Detroit Tigers, who own the best record in MLB, for prospects Thayron Liranzo and Cris Rodriguez.
"With five top-100 prospects, the Tigers have one of the best farm systems in baseball, so they have prospects to spare. Because Bichette is a rental, the team would only have to send one of their top 100 prospects, though," Bassett wrote.
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"Detroit needs to go all in. Although they've been ahead of the pack for the entirety of this season, the other powerhouse organizations are coming for them. The Tigers should make multiple trades, and a move for Bichette is one of them that makes sense."
Liranzo might be the catcher of the future if he came to Toronto, and Rodriguez, who is only 17, is an immensely talented outfield prospect. But neither brings the Blue Jays closer to winning in 2025, which is still the stated goal.
The guess here is that the Blue Jays would have to dip five-plus games out of the wild card chase by the trade deadline to consider dealing Bichette. But as we saw last season, that's well within the realm of possibility.
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