Detroit Tigers Seen as Potential Suitor for All-Star Shortstop in Free Agency

Does a former two-time All-Star shortstop make sense for the Detroit Tigers in free agency next offseason?

Feb 22, 2025; Dunedin, Florida, USA;Toronto Blue Jays shortstop Bo Bichette (11) reaches base on error against the New York Yankees during the third inning at TD Ballpark. | Kim Klement Neitzel-Imagn Images

The Detroit Tigers have started up spring training with their high expectations heading into the new campaign.

Despite the slow start to the winter, the Tigers appear to be a better team on paper after numerous additions in free agency.

Detroit is currently operating ahead of schedule after falling just one win shy of making the ALCS last year. The young core of the Tigers exceeded all expectations in 2024, especially considering that they were sellers at the trade deadline.

This offseason, Detroit didn’t have to worry about losing young core pieces in free agency. However, they were expected to help support them.

In free agency, they added a lot to their pitching staff with Tommy Kahnle for the bullpen to go along with Alex Cobb and Jack Flaherty in the starting rotation. Upgrades to the rotation were certainly a need coming into the winter, and that has been addressed nicely.

For the lineup, the addition of Gleyber Torres is a fine move, but they did just miss out on having a perfect offseason if they were able to sign Alex Bregman.

The batting order still does have a couple of question marks that will be worth monitoring, but the Tigers can always look to continue to make upgrades.

Zachary D. Rymer of Bleacher Report recently spoke about the Tigers being a potential landing spot in a trade for shortstop Bo Bichette of the Toronto Blue Jays.

After bursting on the scene as one of the best young shortstops in the game, it was a challenging 2024 campaign for Bichette. The 26-year-old was only able to play in 81 games due to injury and he struggled when he was on the field.

The former two-time All-Star slashed .225/.277/.322 with just four home runs and 31 RBI. It was easily the worst year of his career and the young shortstop will be hungry to bounce back.

However, entering the final year of his contract on a team that could be sellers if they fall out of contention, Bichette could be a player that will have his name mentioned in trade rumors.

For the Tigers, being named a potential landing spot make some sense. Currently, shortstop is going to be manned by youngster Trey Sweeney and potentially Javier Baez. Sweeney performed well for Detroit after they acquired him last season, but a healthy Bichette would be a massive upgrade.

The Baez contract is a dark cloud that will be hanging over the franchise for a few more years. Unfortunately, the team can’t expect anything positive from him at this point. That deal, however, may make it hard to sign Bichette.

If the position turns out to be a weakness with both players being ineffective, Bichette would fit not only a positional need but a lineup need.

Overall, this could be a solid pairing with the Tigers’ desire and need for a great right-handed bat in the lineup.