Getty The Dodgers will need to make roster upgrades by the July 30 trade deadline. Will Blue Jays SS Bo Bichette be one of their priorities?
The Los Angeles Dodgers are one of baseball’s best teams thanks to a 47-31 record. They also own a comfortable eight-game lead over the San Diego Padres and Arizona Diamondbacks in the National League West. They’re expected to make big moves ahead of the July 30 trade deadline. Could Toronto Blue Jays shortstop Bo Bichette be part of their haul?
During a June 21 Bleacher Report live stream, Robbie Hyde proposed the following deal that would send Bichette to Hollywood:
- Dodgers receive: shortstop Bo Bichette
- Blue Jays receive: infielder Gavin Lux, catcher Diego Cartaya and right-handed pitcher Payton Martin
Cartaya (seventh) and Martin (ninth) are both top-10 prospects in the Dodgers’ system, according to MLB.com. Lux is a former top prospect and missed all of 2023 because of injury. He’s hitting .210/.258/.280 with one home run, 17 RBI and 21 runs scored in 213 plate appearances this season.
How Bichette Would Fit in Los Angeles
The Dodgers recently lost incumbent starting shortstop Mookie Betts to a fractured hand. He’s expected to miss up to two months. L.A.’s current plan is to use Miguel Rojas and Kike Hernandez to fill the void. However, adding Bichette would be a huge upgrade.
Toronto placed Bichette on the injured list on June 18 with a right calf strain. That has further slowed what’s already been a rough start to 2024 for him. He’s hitting .237/.286/.342 with four homers, 28 RBI and 22 runs scored in 276 plate appearances. But between 2021 and 2023, he was one of baseball’s best offensive shortstops.
Bichette posted a .815 OPS while averaging 24 homers, 34 doubles, 89 RBI and 94 runs scored across those three seasons. He earned two All-Star Game selections and placed in the top 20 of American League MVP Award voting three times. He’s also under contract through 2025 as part of a three-year, $33.6 million deal, so he’d be more than just a half-season rental.
Bringing the 26-year-old to Los Angeles would allow Betts to shift to second base. He manned the keystone for 70 games in 2023. Lux has been getting a lot of playing time there so far this season.
Will the Dodgers Be Serious Players for Bichette?
Despite their comfortable NL West lead, the Dodgers have had a rough time with injuries recently. Max Muncy has been sidelined since the middle of May and isn’t expected back until after the All-Star break. He and Betts have also been joined by pitchers Walker Buehler and Yoshinobu Yamamoto on the injured list.
Is acquiring a shortstop a huge priority for Los Angeles leading up to the trade deadline? Not necessarily said Sirius XM’s Jim Bowden, who relayed a recent conversation with Dodgers general manager Brandon Gomes.
The club is comfortable letting Rojas and Hernandez share shortstop duties while Betts gets healthy. Bowden also shared his thoughts on the types of moves the Dodgers will look to make before July 30.
“So it is tricky, but I know I know the Dodgers and I know Andrew Friedman,” he said. “And everyone just take a deep breath because he’s gonna get a starter, a reliever and an outfielder by July 30. Book it. Put it in cement.”
Even if Los Angeles isn’t serious about upgrading shortstop right now, that can change. The trade deadline is still about five weeks away and a lot can happen between now and then. It’ll be interesting to see how the market materializes and what anticipated buyers decide to do when the time comes.