Braves believed to have to beat Blue Jays’ bid for Bo Bichette originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
Depending on what the Atlanta Braves want to accomplish during the offseason, there’s a rather obvious option for them at the shortstop position.
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It’s possible that Ha-Seong Kim could return on a new deal, but reports have also indicated that Scott Boras is looking to do whatever it takes to get him paid, as he had a great second half and will likely be somewhat expensive.
That doesn’t mean the Braves can’t go out and add him, but if the price inches up a bit higher than most expect, spending more money on someone like Bo Bichette might be the better plan.
Matt Snyder of CBS Sports recently named Bichette as one of the top options for the Braves to pursue this winter, adding that there’s an apparent need to improve at shortstop if Kim walks.
“At shortstop, Bo Bichette could solve some problems if the Braves are ready to spend big, though it sure seems like it’ll be tough to beat the Blue Jays in the bidding. Then again, if Toronto goes with an all-out pursuit of Kyle Tucker, as rumored, there might be an opening to pry Bichette away. The Braves would take a hit defensively with Bichette at short (or Albies at short and Bichette at second), but his bat makes it worthwhile. DubĂłn can sub in for a late-inning defensive replacement when they need,” he wrote.
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Bichette is a tough player to evaluate in some sense, but mainly due to how poorly he plays the shortstop position defensively.
Outside of that, he’s one of the better-hitting shortstops in baseball, at least in terms of getting on base.
His power numbers have dipped a tad recently, but he’s still a 20-plus home run type of guy if he’s at the top of his game.
