Grade the trade: Should Braves send top prospect to Blue Jays for year of Bo Bichette?

Alex Anthopoulos has done precious little to improve the Atlanta Braves after a disappointing 2024 campaign. He shouldn't necessarily feel pressure to swing for the fences — Atlanta's problems last season were rooted almost entirely in a titanic avalanche of injuries — but the Braves can't sit on their hands either.

The rest of the National League is getting better. Blake Snell in LA, Corbin Burnes in Arizona, Juan Soto in New York. These are direct threats to Atlanta's status as NL heavyweight. Max Fried's departure for the Yankees, meanwhile, leaves a gaping hole in the Braves rotation. Anthopoulos, if anything, has watched the Braves get worse.

Fret not, Atlanta fans, for there are still avenues to improvement. Anthopoulos has never been opposed to taking advantage of the trade market, which is often preferable to paying sticker price on a free agent. Perhaps the most appealing trade candidate for the Braves' purposes is Toronto Blue Jays shortstop Bo Bichette.

A two-time All-Star at 26 years old, Bichette has an extremely impressive resume for such a young player. The catch? He's entering the final year of his contract, which inherently complicates any trade. The Braves are unlikely to cough up an extension that Bichette deems suitable, which means it could end up as a rental.

Zachary D. Rymer of Bleacher Report proposes a trade all the same, arguing that Bichette would push Atlanta in the right direction.

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This Braves-Blue Jays trade would bring Bo Bichette to Atlanta at great risk

"Because [Bichette] is slated for free agency after 2025, he only makes sense for win-now teams with serious needs at shortstop," Rymer writes. "To this end, the Braves stick out like the sorest of thumbs."

That is absolutely correct. Orlando Arcia's production caved in 2024 after his All-Star campaign in 2023, which feels increasingly like a flash in the pan. Arcia posted a 0.5 WAR and .625 OPS, hammering 17 home runs across 157 appearances. He was available when a lot of Braves staples were not, but Arcia's bat just did not carry water for an Atlanta offense in desperate need.

Bichette has led the AL in hits twice during his brief career. When he's right, there are few superior bat-to-ball specialists in baseball. Bichette is more than a singles machine, though. He can hit for power (three straight 20-plus HR campaigns from 2021-23) and stress defenses as a base-runner. Factor in a dependable glove at a critical position, and Bichette is the rare five-tool star every contender covets.

There is, of course, a red flag or two. Mainly stemming from last season, when Bichette posted a .598 OPS and -0.3 WAR — both meaningfully worse than Arcia. He was one of the worst everyday position players in MLB through 81 games and 336 ABs, undoubtedly hampered by a nagging calf injury.

That could (understandably) spook the Braves, who won't want to part with Cam Caminiti, their No. 1 prospect, unless Bichette can provide star-level impact during his one guaranteed year with the organization. With a full spring training to rebuild confidence in his swing, there's reason to believe Bichette can recapture his old magic in 2025. It feels a lot more likely than him suddenly becoming the worst starting shortstop in baseball. But, on the off chance that there are lingering ill-effects, the Braves would be in deep trouble.

At the end of the day, though, Atlanta is a contender in no position to prospect hug. Caminiti has serious talent, but the Braves are loaded with pitching prospects, from Hurston Waldrep, to A.J. Smith-Shawver, to Owen Murphy. Caminiti won't touch the majors for another four or five years, at least.

So, in the interest of maximizing their current title window in an increasingly competitive National League, the Braves should strongly consider a trade of this nature. Bichette is the real deal at full strength, and Atlanta isn't completely without hope of hammering out a long-term contract when the season ends.

Toronto, meanwhile, restocks its dire pitching pipeline with a talented 18-year-old on a sky-high trajectory. This is a nice haul for an expiring star coming off his worst season.

Braves grade: B+
Blue Jays grade: A-