Phillies-Bo Bichette News Comes With Loud Message For Red Sox

Stop messing around.

May 21, 2025; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Toronto Blue Jays shortstop Bo Bichette (11) warms up before playing the San Diego Padres at Rogers Centre. Mandatory Credit: Dan Hamilton-Imagn Images | Dan Hamilton-Imagn Images

The Philadelphia Phillies weren't in on Bo Bichette for most of the winter. Suddenly, they're in -- in a big way.

On Thursday, The Athletic's Matt Gelb and Ken Rosenthal reported that the Phillies had a meeting scheduled with Bichette, a known target of the Boston Red Sox and several other teams, for Friday. The two insiders asserted that Philadelphia's interest in Bichette was "legitimate."

If you like our content, choose Sports Illustrated as a preferred source on Google.

Virtually every report and tidbit about the Red Sox's interest in Bichette is that he is/was the backup plan to re-signing Alex Bregman. If that's the case, the Phillies news should serve as a reminder that a backup plan in free agency is no plan at all.

Red Sox can't treat anyone like a backup plan

This piece isn't meant to assert that the Red Sox should preemptively strike on Bichette because the Bregman sweepstakes are dragging out. If Bregman's the guy, they need to simply stop any pretense of getting the best value and sign him to the largest contract they have authorization to give out.

One of the increasingly true sayings about free agency is that the team that wins is the team that overpays. Conversely, the team that is in on every player that makes the most calculated decisions is going to wind up leading the league in second- and third-place finishes.

Bichette seemed as if he was no one's No. 1 target for a moment there. But if the Phillies' interest is as serious as it seemed from Gelb and Rosenthal's report, the Red Sox can kiss any chances of signing him goodbye unless he suddenly becomes their No. 1 target.

The real message here is that the Red Sox should be the next team to sign a major free agent. They've waited long enough, and even if Bregman remains on the table, Bichette signing elsewhere would immediately remove anything resembling leverage.

Plus, if he signs with the Phillies specifically, the Chicago Cubs are likely to increase their push for Bregman. Competition seems to be at least moderate still as of this week, so the Red Sox don't need that increasing.

Stop messing around. Eventually, a decisive team like the Phillies is going to come along and mess up your carefully laid-out timeline.

More MLB: Red Sox's Likely Answer To Masataka Yoshida Dilemma Becoming Clear