With Trevor Story’s offseason resolution nonetheless to be made, the Purple Sox ought to not less than be wanting on the market to see how they might change him if he finally ends up elsewhere. Though there have been studies that Story feels a way of loyalty to Boston after a comeback marketing campaign in 2025 and three robust years to start his contract, his resolution can’t actually be predicted now, a lot much less assured.
Since there are two main query marks on the left facet of the infield for the Purple Sox heading into the offseason (with Alex Bregman opting out) Boston ought to take a critical have a look at Bo Bichette, whether or not or not Story opts out. Whereas I’m at present assuming that Bregman returns to the Purple Sox subsequent yr in some trend, Bichette’s flexibility — together with that of Marcelo Mayer — gives Boston with a great fill-in in both scenario.
Bichette has performed shortstop for his total main league profession (the truth is, he performed second base for the primary time in his MLB profession in Sport 1 of the World Collection final week), however many mission that he’ll have to maneuver to second or third sooner or later as a result of his relative lack of vary and supremacy in superior defensive metrics. With this in thoughts, Bichette gives a salve to infield worries in lots of conditions for Boston this offseason.
After a career-worst 2024, Bichette was main the American League in hits on Sept. 6, when he suffered a knee sprain that ended his common season. He slashed .311/.357/.483 within the 2025 common season and completed with 181 hits and 18 residence runs over 139 video games. His 94 RBI was the second-highest single-season whole of his profession, behind solely his 2021 season — his first full yr within the majors — when he collected 102 RBI in 20 extra video games performed.
His protection is de facto not good, and could be a far cry from what we noticed from Trevor Story for almost all of 2025, however his bat greater than makes up for this, particularly if he’s capable of shift to second base (ideally), and even third.
The most important concern when contemplating Bichette is his propensity for lower-body accidents — and Boston wants one other injury-prone younger infielder like they want a gap within the head. However his means to return again within the World Collection is an encouraging signal, and since his first full season within the majors (2021), 2024 was the one yr the place his season was minimize considerably brief as a result of damage, as he performed in solely 81 video games whereas coping with a calf pressure in July and August earlier than fracturing a finger in September, which ended his season for good.
Regardless of the slight damage propensity, a 27-year-old Bichette would add an ideal piece of constant hitting to a generally unstable Purple Sox offense. If we take into consideration Boston’s infield with certainly one of Story or Bregman gone — which is what it’d take for the Purple Sox to significantly take into account Bichette — a forged of Bregman/Story, Marcelo Mayer, Bichette, Romy Gonzalez and Triston Casas (ultimately) could be way more well-rounded than the forged of misfits that the Purple Sox needed to trot out often in 2025. Each Bichette and Mayer might be thought-about at third, brief, or second (with Mayer taking precedence at brief if Story leaves), which gives a way of flexibility that Boston didn’t have this yr. It additionally provides the Purple Sox significantly better odds of placing out their finest lineup daily than that they had in 2025, after they tended to, somewhat inexplicably, construct a lineup and infield relying on whether or not Jarren Duran was taking part in after Roman Anthony’s call-up.
Bichette is coming into his prime at solely 27 years outdated and coming off one of the best season of his profession. Due to this (and his defensive flexibility), he may have an intensive market in free company, particularly contemplating the variety of premium shortstops who’ve been locked down lately and the dearth of elite shortstops nearing free company any time quickly. He’s basically a youthful, better-hitting, worse-fielding Dansby Swanson (who many followers wished to go after following Xander Bogaerts’ departure in 2022) who has the power to maximise the worth of his bat even additional by switching positions defensively.
Bichette is at present projected to get someplace round Willy Adames’ 7-year, $182 million deal, however a longer-term contract is certainly in play contemplating his youth. When judging this towards the large offers that gamers like Francisco Lindor, Trea Turner and Corey Seager have just lately commanded, if Boston has a gap of any type seem in its infield over the offseason, Craig Breslow ought to significantly take into account going after Bichette so as to add a younger, versatile infielder to a still-developing crew and guaranteeing a constant performer at shortstop or second base for the primary time in years.
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