The Dodgers are watching their NL West rivals make moves, and they might need to answer back.
San Francisco just landed Rafael Devers in a blockbuster trade that shakes up the division race. Now the Dodgers are looking at their own options to stay ahead.
Sure, LA’s pitching staff should be healthy eventually. But there’s holes in the lineup that need addressing. Michael Conforto hasn’t exactly set the world on fire this season, and the front office knows it.
Newsweek’s Andrew Wright suggested the Dodgers could counter the Giants’ move by going after Bo Bichette from Toronto.
“The dynamic of the Dodgers defense may change a little bit if they were to go after Bichette, but that wouldn’t be too much to worry about when trying to acquire one of the best shortstops in the league. Bichette has not yet signed an extension with the Blue Jays, making it unclear if he will be a trade piece or if Toronto will try to lock him down with an extension prior to the offseason. If he is made available, another right-handed power bat to counter the excellent left-handed arms in the National League like Robbie Ray, Shota Imanaga, Jesus Luzardo, Christopher Sanchez and more would be an excellent get for Los Angeles.”
The positional flexibility makes sense for LA. They’ve got options with Bichette – keep him at shortstop and slide Mookie Betts back to the outfield, or move Bichette to second base and put Tommy Edman in the outfield where he’s already played this year.
But here’s the thing – Bichette might not even be available.
Toronto sits in a playoff spot right now, just 4 1/2 games behind in the AL East. The Blue Jays aren’t looking to sell if they think October’s within reach.
That’s where the contract situation gets interesting. Bichette’s a pending unrestricted free agent after this season, and Spotrac projects he’ll command seven years and $147 million on the open market.
The Blue Jays just committed $500 million to Vladimir Guerrero Jr., which makes keeping Bichette a financial stretch. That’s the kind of situation where contenders start making calls.
Bichette’s resume speaks for itself – two-time All-Star who’s led the American League in hits twice. This season he’s hitting .268 with eight home runs, which isn’t exactly setting the world on fire but still represents solid production from the shortstop position.
The way I see it, this comes down to timing. If Toronto starts slipping in the standings over the next few weeks, Bichette becomes the type of rental that could change the NL West race.
All things considered, the Dodgers have the prospect capital to make it happen. Question is whether they want to go all-in on a guy who’ll be shopping for a new contract come November.
