As a fan, Bo is extremely hard to read. Mal has said for quite some time that it's almost fait accompli that Bo is gone, whether that's Bo's desire or that of the Front Office, I don't know. I think you are right that the only way Bo can stay is if he moves to 2B. He's a fantastic hitter, but a flawed player defensively and in sprint speed (not sure how that translates to baserunning metrics). Fair or not, he has also become somewhat injury prone.
But if they let him go, they HAVE to get a significant impact bat somehow. Relying on a bounce back from Santander and continued production from Springer won't be enough.
It will be interesting to see how this plays out...in the end we'll learn how much the team values Bo based on whether they sign him for big bucks to play 2B or let him go.
The Yankees can certainly offer him the requisite money to replace Volpe at SS. But offence has never been a problem with the Yankees; by contrast, the D was a big failing, badly exposed by the Jays in the ALDS. For the most part, Blue Jays fans were quite easy on Bo for his defensive shortcomings. I wonder if it will be the same in the Bronx?
The Mets are set with Lindor at SS and I doubt they bid THAT aggressively for Bichette to play 2nd. They'll still be tough on Bo if he doesn't perform and it's unclear that the Mets are even the best team in the NL East, let alone the NL as a whole.
The World Series champion Dodgers are not going to replace Betts at SS, so if they went after Bo, it would likely be to play 2B for them. Maybe the Padres sign him to replace Bogaerts, but that's a lot of payroll for them and I doubt they'll add much more.
Taken in aggregate, I could envisage Bichette making shortstop-like money but still end up at 2nd base. The grass is not always greener and Bo might find that it's far more comfortable staying in Toronto and playing 2B for a genuine World Series contender.
Let's see. The Jays might decide that they are better off with Clement at 2B, Barger at 3rd and signing someone like Bellinger as a big LH bat for the OF. It's probably safe to assume that Santander will revert to something closer to what he was with Baltimore, so the combination of another big bat, plus a revival from Tony Taters, and the Jays might find themselves in a stronger position than simply re-signing Bichette.
As a fan, Bo is extremely hard to read. Mal has said for quite some time that it's almost fait accompli that Bo is gone, whether that's Bo's desire or that of the Front Office, I don't know. I think you are right that the only way Bo can stay is if he moves to 2B. He's a fantastic hitter, but a flawed player defensively and in sprint speed (not sure how that translates to baserunning metrics). Fair or not, he has also become somewhat injury prone.
But if they let him go, they HAVE to get a significant impact bat somehow. Relying on a bounce back from Santander and continued production from Springer won't be enough.
It will be interesting to see how this plays out...in the end we'll learn how much the team values Bo based on whether they sign him for big bucks to play 2B or let him go.
The Yankees can certainly offer him the requisite money to replace Volpe at SS. But offence has never been a problem with the Yankees; by contrast, the D was a big failing, badly exposed by the Jays in the ALDS. For the most part, Blue Jays fans were quite easy on Bo for his defensive shortcomings. I wonder if it will be the same in the Bronx?
The Mets are set with Lindor at SS and I doubt they bid THAT aggressively for Bichette to play 2nd. They'll still be tough on Bo if he doesn't perform and it's unclear that the Mets are even the best team in the NL East, let alone the NL as a whole.
The World Series champion Dodgers are not going to replace Betts at SS, so if they went after Bo, it would likely be to play 2B for them. Maybe the Padres sign him to replace Bogaerts, but that's a lot of payroll for them and I doubt they'll add much more.
Taken in aggregate, I could envisage Bichette making shortstop-like money but still end up at 2nd base. The grass is not always greener and Bo might find that it's far more comfortable staying in Toronto and playing 2B for a genuine World Series contender.
Let's see. The Jays might decide that they are better off with Clement at 2B, Barger at 3rd and signing someone like Bellinger as a big LH bat for the OF. It's probably safe to assume that Santander will revert to something closer to what he was with Baltimore, so the combination of another big bat, plus a revival from Tony Taters, and the Jays might find themselves in a stronger position than simply re-signing Bichette.