Prized American League Free Agent Shortstop Linked to Rockies This Offseason

One AL free agent shortstop was linked to the Rockies this offseason and has family ties to the organization.

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Before the Colorado Rockies can tend to offseason matters, they still need to hire a front office executive. Bill Schmidt stepped down from his general manager role, and the search remains on for a decision maker for the front office.

There are going to be some decisions that have to be made for an organization that lost 119 games this past season. There is nowhere to go but up. As far as free agents go, Colorado is not a big destination for free agents to land, which is why one free agent this winter linked to the Rockies is somewhat surprising.

Rockies Linked to Blue Jays Free Agent Shortstop Bo Bichette

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One free agent who has family ties to Colorado this offseason is Toronto Blue Jays shortstop Bo Bichette. His father, Dante, spent seven years in the Mile High City, and was a four-time All-Star for Colorado. He batted .316 during his time with the Rockies, but struggled elsewhere.

As far as Bo goes, he would like to play shortstop after having the end of his regular season cut short with an injury, before missing time in the playoffs, but returned for the World Series. Colorado has Ezequiel Tovar, who won a Gold Glove in 2024, projected for shortstop next year, which makes adding Bo Bichette difficult. However, Kerry Miller of Bleacher Report floated out an idea that could just work.

"If any team is liable to pay Bichette like a shortstop (average salary among 10 highest-paid SS in 2024 was $24 million) while asking him to play second base (Marcus Semien was the only 2B to make at least $16 million in 2024), it might be the Colorado Rockies,'' Miller wrote.

"Bichette wouldn't instantly fix this 119-loss catastrophe, but it has been almost a quarter century since they were last able to convince an even remotely noteworthy free-agent starting pitcher to sign there. Improving the offense is step one to digging out of this hole, and perhaps Bichette can be the consistent bat they were hoping Kris Bryant would be,'' Miller also added.

Bichette wouldn't solve Colorado's problems at the plate, but he could certainly add some punch to the lineup with his bat. The problem is getting a player of Bichette's ability, talent, and prospective huge contract to go to the Rockies.

Just how much Colorado wants to spend this upcoming season remains to be seen. After losing 119 games, it's unlikely that they would be willing to spend even remotely big, but dishing out a lot of money for Bichette with his father's ties makes sense. It just doesn't seem like reality.

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