The Phillies Interest In Bo Bichette Is Real
When the rumors that the Phillies were interested in Bo Bichette first popped up, a lot of us assumed the same thing. This is the Phillies trying to get leverage…
When the rumors that the Phillies were interested in Bo Bichette first popped up, a lot of us assumed the same thing. This is the Phillies trying to get leverage on JT Realmuto. They want to make it seem like they might move on and force him to sign the deal in front of him.
But a recent report by Matt Gelb revealed that it is not the case. Gelb revealed that the Phillies' interest in the All-Star is very real and the team already has a meeting planned with him. He joined Unfiltered shortly after he dropped his story, and reiterated that the team's interest in Bo Bichette is indeed real.
Gelb is as trustworthy as it gets in the Phillies beat. Add on that Ken Rosenthal and Jayson Stark also have their names on the story, and you know this is a report you can trust.
Gelb did make sure to mention that the market for Bichette is robust. A lot of teams are interested in his services. Just because they have a real interest in Bichette does not mean they will be the team that lands a contract with him. But it tells you that it is something the Phillies actually are trying to do.
Phillies Shaking Things Up
It is the first indication from the team that they might actually shake things up. Most of the off-season has been them bringing back the same players and making changes around the edges of the team. Dave Dombrowski threw cold water on the idea that there would be massive changes.
This would be a big change, though. Bo Bichette is a player who hits around .300 and can slug 20+ HRs. He puts the ball in play and is a doubles machine.
Gelb's report indicates the Phillies see him as a third baseman. Meaning he would replace Alec Bohm, whom the Phillies have been trying hard to move. Signing Bichette would force their hand on Bohm. Bohm had one season with an OPS over .800, his rookie season. Bichette, who is actually younger than Bohm, had an OPS over .800 in all but 1 season.
It would give you 4 All-Star caliber bats at the top of their lineup. What order they would hit in is unclear. It would be a massive boost to a lineup that came up short in the past few postseason runs. As a bonus, Bichette was a star for the Blue Jays on their run to the World Series last season.
Jon Heyman added that there is "strong mutual interest" between Bichette and the Phillies.
