n8rngtd.topBo Bichette is having a phenomenal season and is heading into free agency, but one MLB insider is skeptical of his future position.
's Ken Rosenthal explained that the Blue Jays All-Star isn't viewed as a long-term shortstop by many in baseball. That will be a huge hit to his potential value moving forward.
"The shortstop market this winter is very thin. You've got Bo Bichette out there. But Bo Bichette in the eyes of many in the industry, should not be at shortstop, or at least not for much longer," Rosenthal said.
Bichette is currently slashing .310/.354/.478, with 17 home runs, 88 RBIs and 74 runs scored. He has an OPS of .832 with a wRC+ of 130, which would be a career-high for a full season. His xwOBA of .363 is also a career-best mark.
The issue for the 27-year-old is that he currently ranks 34th among MLB shortstops with -13 outs above average defensively. That's dead last among qualifiers at the position, and the next worst is Yankees shortstop Anthony Volpe at -8.
It's like Bichette moves to second base in the future, which will significantly reduce his value. The one thing he has going for him is, as Rosenthal mentioned, the incredible weakness of the shortstop crop this coming offseason. Red Sox shortstop Trevor Story can opt out, as can new Braves addition Ha-Seong Kim, while bargain options like Miguel Rojas, Isiah Kiner-Falefa and Amed Rosario will also be available.
We'll see how that impacts Bichette, but Rosenthal clearly thinks he won't get the kind of money he's looking for.