The New York Yankees didn’t address their third base position in the offseason, and MLB insider Jim Bowden has them signing a star infielder in the offseason.
Bowden released his MLB predictions for the year, and he predicts the Yankees will sign Bo Bichette to a massive deal in the offseason. Although Bichette is a shortstop, Bowden predicts he will switch to third base.
“Bo Bichette signs a five-year, $147 million deal to play third base for the Yankees,” Bowden wrote.
It’s a bold prediction, but if Bichette is open to playing third base, signing with the Yankees does make sense. However, he has been adamant throughout his career that he is a shortstop.
Bichette is in the final year of his three-year $33.6 million deal with the Toronto Blue Jays. He hit .225 with 4 home runs and 31 RBIs in 2024, as he only played in 81 games due to injuries.
Blue Jays Haven’t Had Extension Talks With Bichette
Bichette is a star infielder, but Toronto has yet to have extension talks with him.
The star shortstop had a disappointing season in 2024 due to injuries and Bichette says he’s just focused on himself and getting back to form.
“No, we haven’t had any talks,” Bichette said, “but from my perspective, we all grow up wanting to be one of those guys that has an opportunity to stay with an organization for their entire career. I’m just focused on what I’ve got to do this year to help the team win and be the best version of myself. Whatever happens will happen.”
As Bichette says, he wants to prove to everyone that he can stay healthy and have another great year. He is a two-time All-Star and two-time hits leader and Blue Jays manager John Schneider is expecting him to have a big year.
“You guys will see Bo,” Schneider said. “Bo looks like Bo, which is really, really refreshing. We’re talking about adding a bat and adding [another] bat, but we kind of operated without one of our best bats last year in Bo. Having him back is going to be big.”
Bichette made his MLB debut in the 2019 season with the Blue Jays.
Yankees Went Internally at Third Base
New York had a need at third base but didn’t address it in the offseason.
The Yankees had a competition with DJ LeMahieu, Oswaldo Cabrera, Oswald Peraza, and Jorbit Vivas in spring training. However, an injury to LeMahieu and some poor play led to Cabrera likely being the Opening Day third baseman.
Heading into spring training, Yankees general manager Brian Cashman was confident with his internal options. But, did say they would keep their options open to add another third baseman.
“I don’t know how it’s going to play out,” Cashman said. “I do think we can have one of these candidates emerge or multiple guys emerge into a platoon situation at worst, or a solo shot at best. If not, there’s always the marketplace to play around with as we move forward, too.”
The Yankees will open its 2025 MLB season on March 27 against the Milwaukee Brewers.
