Tigers pundit dismisses Bo Bichette in Detroit scenario, claims Blue Jays will hold on to Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and 2x All-Star shortstop

After the initial refusal from the Toronto Blue Jays that they weren't accepting offers for Bo Bichette, there has been speculation that the team has changed its mind. As per rumors, they are looking to get the maximum return out of the star shortstop, who is heading into free agency next year.

As per Scott Bentley on the "Locked On Tigers" podcast, despite renewed rumors, the Blue Jays will not trade away Bo Bichette. He reasoned that Toronto is going to give it its all to extend Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and that means keeping Bichette. Trading away Bichette would essentially be going back on their team-building process around Vlad.

"If they trade one of them, being Vlad or Bichette, then they have to trade the other. It really, to me, makes no sense... I just don’t understand why you would go, ‘Okay, we’re gonna trade Bichette but we’ll extend Vlad.’

"Well, you just traded, you’re extending Vlad to build around him and you just traded a piece away—like that doesn’t make any sense to me," Bentley said. [18:00]

He further stated that as per reports from The Athletic the Blue Jays are looking for two Top 100 prospects in return. That makes the Tigers unlikely to go ahead with the trade as Detroit will not be keen on trading two youngsters for a shortstop option that hit just .225 in 2024.

"The Tigers can go 'Look Bo Bichette at the end of the day, he's a one-year rental, right? He's a free agent at the end of next season and he had a really not great year this year. We're not going to give you one of our top-end prospects for him. We're not giving you a top two, top 100 prospects in baseball,'" Bentley added.

Blue Jays acquisition of Andres Gimenez makes Bo Bichette trade more likely

The Toronto Blue Jays added second baseman Andres Gimenez to their infield last week to a five-year $100 million contract. The former Guardians star is one of the best defensive infielders in the game but his $20 million annual average value on the payroll may have made it tough for Blue Jays to sign other players.

They are rumored to have checked in on Alex Bregman to secure the third base position. But with Bichette earning $16.5 million in arbitration amount in 2025, they might be outmatched by other teams. In the event that they trade Bichette now, Gimenez, who was brought up as a shortstop prospect, could move there and they could pursue Bregman with ease.