Should the Dodgers Consider This Blockbuster Trade to Land Bo Bichette?

The Los Angeles Dodgers will likely be active this trade deadline as they look to shore up their lineup depth.

The Dodgers’ bottom of the lineup has been by far the team’s biggest disappointment, and they should look to address that issue before the second half of the season.

The Dodgers could look to add a platoon or fringe depth player to shore up the edges. Or, they could go big, and look to add an All-Star who will provide a massive impact on a team with World Series aspirations.

If they go with the latter, there may be no better team to talk to than the Toronto Blue Jays.

The Blue Jays are spiraling, sitting at 28-30 and in last place in the American League East. Their general manager Ross Atkins said over the weekend he wasn’t interested in trading Vladimir Guerrero or Bo Bichette, but if the team continues to falter, he may be left with no choice — especially if neither is interested in an extension.

Recently, our Doug McKain broke down some potential trade proposals regarding Bichette, and stumbled across an interesting one that came up in a recent article for The Athletic. The proposal McKain breaks down went as follows:

Dodgers Receive: SS Bo Bichette

Blue Jays Receive: INF Gavin Lux, C Dalton Rushing, and RHP Payton Martin

For McKain’s full breakdown on the trade proposal, click the video at the top of the article, or right here.

Rushing is the Dodgers’ No. 1 overall prospect while Martin is No. 9, per MLB Pipeline. However, the Dodgers signed Will Smith to a 10-year, $140 million extension this offseason, which somewhat blocks Rushing from a future in Los Angeles unless he switches positions.

Read more: Dodgers Nation’s Top 10 LA Prospects Heading Into 2024 Season

The Dodgers also have plenty of catching depth in the organization with top-10 prospects Diego Cartaya and Thayron Liranzo.

As for Martin, he’s one of the many exciting pitching prospects in the L.A. organization. He’s still just 20 years old and in Single-A. He has a 5.52 ERA in five starts this season.

The biggest question mark in this trade would be Lux. As McKain points out, the Dodgers would first have to be ready to move on from Lux for this trade to ever happen. If they do get to a point where they’re ready to move on from their former top prospect, then the Blue Jays would need to be interested in his upside as an everyday player.

Lux got off to a slow start this season coming off a torn ACL, but has been much better as of late, and has been a plus-defender at second base.

As for Bichette, the two-time All-Star also got off to a slow start this season, but has started to find his groove. On the year, he’s slashing .238/.284/.343 with four home runs and 25 RBIs. He’s coming off a 2023 All-Star campaign in which he hit .306 with 20 home runs, 73 RBIs, and a .814 OPS.

Bichette is under team control through next season and is still just 26 years old. As McKain says, the Dodgers would likely only consider a trade for Bichette if they viewed him as a long-term solution at shortstop.

If that’s the case, a trade and extension would likely be in the cards, similar to when they traded for Tyler Glasnow and immediately gave him a five-year extension in the offseason.

Again, to watch McKain’s full breakdown on this trade proposal, click the video at the top of the article or right here.

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