Phillies-Bo Bichette Update Shows Red Sox Fighting Uphill Battle

Handicapping this bidding war looks easy all of a sudden...

Jul 28, 2025; Baltimore, Maryland, USA; Toronto Blue Jays shortstop Bo Bichette (11) looks on before a game against the Baltimore Orioles at Oriole Park at Camden Yards. Mandatory Credit: Daniel Kucin Jr.-Imagn Images | Daniel Kucin Jr.-Imagn Images

The Boston Red Sox have lost any and all trust from their fan base when it comes to signing a big-name free agent.

Since Alex Bregman chose the Chicago Cubs over the weekend, the most frequently reported pivot option for the Red Sox has been longtime Toronto Blue Jays infielder Bo Bichette. But if Boston wasn't willing to put in the high bid for Bregman, one of their own players, how could they be expected to suddenly blow other big-market suitors out of the water for Bichette?

In a perfectly-timed update, Bichette met with the Philadelphia Phillies on Monday, the team run by former Red Sox boss Dave Dombrowski. Since Dombrowski left at the end of the 2019 season, the Phillies have acted much more like a big-market franchise than the Red Sox have, and it's likely to show here.

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Bichette's meeting with Phillies went 'very well'

After Bichette met with the Phillies, MLB insider Jon Heyman of the New York Post took to X on Tuesday to deliver an update on how the two sides got along. If the Red Sox were long shots before that meeting, they seem like hopeless underdogs now.

"Bichette/Phillies meeting is said to have gone very well (for what it's worth)," Heyman wrote. "Bichette admires 'first class' organization. Other pluses: roster, park, (Don) Mattingly link, spring proximity to home.

"Would Phils need to deal (Alec) Bohm, do lesser (catcher) than JT (Realmuto)? Other Bo suitors: Jays, Red Sox, (New York Yankees), (Los Angeles Dodgers), more."

Bichette met with the Red Sox before the winter meetings last month over Zoom. There was a lot going on at the time, with many other free agents on the board, but we couldn't find any mention of that meeting going particularly well.

Boston made Bregman its priority, but shortchanged him when it came down to crunch time. There's no reason to believe they'll go the extra mile for Bichette, particularly if other teams are offering no-trade clauses, which we've now learned goes against Red Sox organizational policy.

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