Blue Jays' $33M 'Most Likely' Trade Candidate Would Be Royals' Deadline Dream

As the Kansas City Royals take stock of their struggling offense, it's beginning to get late enough in the season to start thinking about trade candidates.

Bobby Witt Jr. is a rockstar, but the rest of Kansas City's offense has failed to support him in 2024. Remarkably, the Royals are 28-23 despite scoring only 172 runs, which ranks 26th out of the 30 teams in Major League Baseball.

To really boost their odds at the postseason, the Royals will have to find another difference-maker at the trade deadline. The Toronto Blue Jays falling out of the playoff race would be a best-case scenario.

On Wednesday, Bleacher Report's Kerry Miller named Blue Jays two-time All-Star shortstop Bo Bichette, who is in the final season of a $33 million arbitration extension, as the team's "most likely" trade candidate. Bichette would be a massive shot in the arm for Kansas City.

"If (the Blue Jays') sub-.500 ways continue, though, the calls about impending free agent Bo Bichette (as well as Chris Bassitt) may become too much to ignore," Miller wrote.

"Bichette had a dreadful and injury-filled season in 2024, but he's looking back to at least 90 percent of his old self these days, batting .292 and only a few slugging percentage points away from matching what fetched him AL MVP votes in each year from 2021-23. They won't be shopping Bichette, so to speak, but they might be willing to be blown away by an offer."

Yes, Bichette would have to move positions for the swap to make sense. But if the Royals can put lifelong second baseman Jonathan India in left field, they can certainly try a lifelong shortstop at second or third base.

The 27-year-old Bichette has a 113 OPS+ so far this season, which would make him Kansas City's third-best hitter behind Witt and Maikel Garcia. And he still has just four home runs on the year after going homerless in April, meaning a power surge could be lurking right around the corner.

The Royals' need for offense is great enough to override any potential concerns about Bichette's contract or position. If they have to go a few million dollars over budget, that's just the cost of winning nowadays.

More MLB: Royals Urged To Call Up Surging 27-Year-Old To Boost Struggling Outfield