Ranking Bo Bichette's free agent suitors from favorites to dark horses

The Toronto Blue Jays’ 6-2 victory in Game 4 over the Los Angeles Dodgers on Tuesday night guaranteed two things. First, the World Series will end outside of the United States for the first time since then-Blue Jays outfielder Joe Carter’s walk-off home run in Game 6 of the 1993 World Series. Additionally, the Blue Jays’ impending return to Toronto means that All-Star infielder Bo Bichette will play at least one more game in front of the Rogers Centre crowd.

Bichette, a 2016 second-round pick, has grown into one of the sport’s premier shortstops and is likely to command a significant contract on the open market. We’ve already seen one of the Blue Jays’ star sluggers cash in, with first baseman Vladimir Guerrero Jr. signing a 14-year, $500 million contract extension back in April. We’ll see whether the Blue Jays make Bichette, who turns 28 next March, next on their list, or if the fan favorite will begin 2026 elsewhere — and he’ll have plenty of suitors. 

For this list, we’ve grouped all 30 MLB teams into four categories: the likely favorites, possible contenders, dark horse candidates and the teams that are unlikely to sign — or outright won’t sign — Bichette. To be clear, all of this is purely speculative, and we’ve ranked all teams alphabetically in each category. 

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The favorites to sign Bo Bichette

Atlanta Braves

Although the Braves acquired Ha-Seong Kim over the summer, the former Tampa Bay Rays infielder hasn’t committed to using his $16 million player option. Bichette and the Braves are a perfect match, even more so after the club’s first losing season in nearly a decade. Good luck dealing with a lineup featuring Bichette, Austin Riley, Matt Olson and Ronald Acuña Jr.!

Los Angeles Dodgers

The rich have no problem getting richer, and we’ll never rule out the Dodgers breaking out the big bucks for a top-tier free agent like Bichette. It’d be interesting to see whether the Dodgers would put him at second and keep Mookie Betts at shortstop, or if they’d flip the two. Or, alternatively, the team could move on from Max Muncy by declining his option for 2026 and slot Bichette in at third.

Toronto Blue Jays

Bichette hasn’t shown any interest in leaving Toronto, and the fans clearly love him. It’s also worth noting that the Blue Jays haven’t signaled that they’re unwilling to pay Bichette after extending Guerrero Jr. Will the two work out a long-term deal?

What other teams could sign Bo Bichette?

Houston Astros

This isn’t at all an indictment on Jeremy Peña, who earned All-Star honors this past season and provided the Astros with a career-best 5.6 bWAR. However, Houston moved Jose Altuve from left field back to second base because they needed more production at the latter position. Would the Astros consider signing Bichette to make him the everyday man at the keystone? 

New York Yankees

As with the Dodgers, the Yankees have proven for decades that they’ll spend to win a championship. The difference is that the Dodgers have actually managed to finish the job, and they’ve at least won four pennants in the past 10 years. With that said, the Yankees are better off pursuing starting pitching and an outfielder in free agency. 

Who are the dark horses to sign Bo Bichette?

Boston Red Sox

Bichette definitely makes sense for the Red Sox, who need a reliable bat after trading Rafael Devers to the San Francisco Giants this past June. However, Trevor Story has two years and $55 million remaining on his contract, though he can opt out after the World Series. It becomes far harder to envision Boston signing Bichette if Story opts in for the guaranteed money.

Los Angeles Angels

This past season proved to be business as usual for the Angels, who haven’t recorded a winning record since 2015. At least new manager Kurt Suzuki has a budding star in shortstop Zach Neto, who hit 26 home runs, stole 26 bases and notched 5.1 bWAR in 128 games. Bichette is an appealing second-base option, but the Angels might be hesitant to hand out a lofty contract after the Anthony Rendon disaster. 

Washington Nationals

How aggressive do the Nationals want to be? CJ Abrams hit .257 with 19 homers, 60 RBIs, 31 stolen bases and 35 doubles in his age-25 season. Signing Bichette means that one of the two must play second or third base, unless the Nats intend to make him a full-time DH. Then again, Washington hasn’t had a winning record since winning the 2019 World Series, so any conversations regarding position changes might be worth it.

Which teams have little to no chance at signing Bo Bichette?

We can divide this into two sub-sections: the teams that already have a shortstop in place and are unlikely to radically overhaul their infield, and the teams that have no intention of spending this offseason. You can likely imagine which organizations fall into which category, but let’s cover all the bases (pun somewhat intended) here.

Shortstop already in place: Arizona Diamondbacks, Baltimore Orioles, Chicago Cubs, Cincinnati Reds, Kansas City Royals, New York Mets, Philadelphia Phillies, San Diego Padres, San Francisco Giants, Seattle Mariners, Texas Rangers: Most of these examples speak for themselves, and you could even include teams like the Orioles or Royals in the “unlikely to spend” category. While Bichette is likely an improvement over Dansby Swanson (Cubs) or J.P. Crawford (Mariners), we’re skeptical that the two-time All-Star would land with either club.

Now, is it possible that a team like the Tigers or Padres signs Bichette to play second base? Sure, and Bichette could even play shortstop in Detroit if the Tigers don’t believe in Trey Sweeney. However, let’s not ignore that Detroit has committed to keeping ace Tarik Skubal, who can become a free agent after next year, around for the 2026 season. We feel that it’d be difficult for the Tigers to justify trading Skubal but signing Bichette.

Unlikely to spend: Athletics, Chicago White Sox, Cleveland Guardians, Colorado Rockies, Detroit Tigers, Miami Marlins, Milwaukee Brewers, Minnesota Twins, Pittsburgh Pirates, St. Louis Cardinals, Tampa Bay Rays: In fairness to the A’s, they already have a franchise shortstop in Jacob Wilson. However, we’re including them here because they’d be unlikely to pursue Bichette regardless, even after uncharacteristically giving former All-Star pitcher Luis Severino a three-year, $67 million contract last offseason.

As for the other teams, it’s well established that the Pirates, Rays and Rockies rarely spend in free agency. Other clubs, such as the Cardinals and Twins, are working through transitional periods, so Bichette doesn’t make sense for them.