Bo

Bichette

The big surprise here is Seager since his name hasn’t come up at all in trade discussions this offseason. It’s abundantly clear that the Red Sox, who have a surplus of young big-league caliber pitching prospects to deal, are planning to upgrade at either second or third base this offseason since they’ve been active in trade discussions for multiple targets while also pursuing free agents Alex Bregman, Bo Bichette and Eugenio Suárez. Get your popcorn ready.

The Red Sox allegedly would like to bring back Alex Bregman to play third base, but they appear to be seriously interested in adding Bichette as another option. If Bichette were to come to Boston, he could perhaps move to second base and allow Marcelo Mayer to play third, or the Red Sox could slide Trevor Story back to second base and put Bichette at short. Bichette’s plus contact ability and line drive approach would play really well against the Green Monster, but we are still in the early stages here.

It comes as a mild surprise that four players — Shota Imanaga, Gleyber Torres, Brandon Woodruff and Trent Grisham — accepted the short-term pact this cycle instead of testing the open market since only 14 of 144 players since 2012 previously accepted qualifying offers. Tucker, Bichette, Schwarber, Valdez, Cease, Suárez and Díaz were no-doubters here while there was some thought that Gallen and King might take the one-year deal to build up their values before hitting free agency next offseason.

Bichette would be a younger alternative to Alex Bregman as Boston’s primary offensive signing this winter. The Red Sox could use him at third or, perhaps more likely, put him at second and shift Marcelo Mayer to the hot corner. Of course, it’ll be a fierce market for Bichette, especially if he is willing to move off shortstop right away. His annual salary might come in a little shy of Bregman’s, but since he’s just turning 28 in March, he’ll command the longer deal of the two.

Passan adds that Kyle Schwarber, Bo Bichette, Framber Valdez, Dylan Cease, Ranger Suarez, Edwin Díaz, Zac Gallen, Shota Imanaga, Michael King, Trent Grisham, Gleyber Torres and Brandon Woodruff are the other dozen impending free agent to receive the tag prior to Thursday evening’s deadline. They have until Tuesday, November 18 to decide whether to accept the one-year deal or decline and become free agents. Only 14 of 144 players to receive a qualifying offer since 2012 have actually accepted it. It’s worth noting that players who were on multiple teams — Josh Naylor and Eugenio Suárez — along with players who have previously received a qualifying offer — Pete Alonso, Cody Bellinger and Alex Bregman — were ineligible to receive one this offseason.

Bichette is one of the winter’s top five free agents and will surely turn down the one-year, $22.025 million deal. Well, almost surely... given what Shane Bieber did in picking up his player option, we probably shouldn’t completely rule it out.

Bichette opened the second inning with a walk as the Blue Jays loaded the bases against Shohei Ohtani, but Andrés Giménez struck out and they came away empty-handed. An inning later, George Springer led off with a single, was sacrificed to second, and Vladimir Guerrero Jr. was intentionally walked to bring up Bichette — who promptly ambushed a first-pitch slider for a 442-foot, three-run homer (110.1 mph EV) to give Toronto an early lead. He later added a one-out single off Blake Snell in the ninth before being lifted for a pinch-runner. The 27-year-old impending free agent wrapped up the World Series slashing a strong .348/.444/.478 slash line with one homer and six RBI across seven games, setting himself up for a potentially massive multi-year payday in free agency this winter.

Springer has been playing through a laundry list of physical issues this postseason, but he’s atop Toronto’s lineup as the calendar flips to November for the most important contest for the franchise in over three decades. Alejandro Kirk is a full-go for the winner-take-all showdown at the Rogers Centre after being plunked on the left hand during the ninth inning of Game 6. Here’s the full lineup set to face Dodgers superstar Shoei Ohtani and company: Springer (DH), Nathan Lukes (LF), Vladimir Guerrero Jr. (1B), Bo Bichette (2B), Addison Barger (RF), Kirk (C), Daulton Varsho (CF), Ernie Clement (3B) and Andrés Giménez (SS).

The 36-year-old slugger missed each of the previous two games — both Blue Jays’ road victories — due to discomfort in his right side. He’ll serve as the designated hitter and bat leadoff against Dodgers’ right-hander Yoshinobu Yamamoto on Friday evening. Here’s the full lineup the Jays will use as they attempt to close out their first World Series Championship since 1993: Springer (DH), Nathan Lukes (LF), Vladimir Guerrero Jr. (1B), Bo Bichette (2B), Daulton Varsho (CF), Alejandro Kirk (C), Addison Barger (RF), Ernie Clement (3B) and Andrés Giménez (SS).

Springer wasn’t able to swing well enough before the game to return to the lineup after leaving Game 3 with right side discomfort. The 36-year-old veteran could be available off the bench to pinch-hit in a key spot, based on the tone of Blue Jays manager John Schneider’s pregame comments, though that’s far from a certainty. Nathan Lukes has been moved up to the leadoff spot in his absence with Bo Bichette taking over at DH and Isiah Kiner-Falefa at second base as Toronto faces Dodger superstar Shohei Ohtani on Tuesday night in Los Angeles. Here’s the full lineup: Lukes (LF), Vladimir Guerrero Jr. (1B), Bichette (DH), Addison Barger (RF), Alejandro Kirk (C), Daulton Varsho (CF), Ernie Clement (3B), Andrés Giménez (SS) and Kiner-Falefa (2B).