Cleveland Guardians, Toronto Blue Jays Linked to All-Star Trade

The Cleveland Guardians find themselves in a rather weird spot with the MLB trade deadline approaching. They are firmly in the American League Wild Card race, but they have not exactly been playing their best baseball in recent weeks.

This has led some to believe that the Guardians could potentially be sellers between now and July 31, much to the chagrin of the fan base.

However, Henry Palatella of Away Back Gone has put together a list of five sluggers Cleveland could potentially pursue via trade in the coming weeks, and he linked the Guardians to a fairly familiar target: Toronto Blue Jays shortstop Bo Bichette.

"While the Blue Jays enter Wednesday ahead of the Guardians in the Wild Card race, there’s been plenty of trade deadline buzz around Bichette, who is an impending free agent," Palatella wrote. "The Blue Jays may have already played their cards earlier this year when they extended Vladimir Guerrero Jr. to a 14-year, $500 million deal earlier this year but seemingly made no progress in a potential extension with Bichette."

Bichette was floated as a possible trade target for Cleveland last summer, and this time around, the 27-year-old is enjoying a much better season.

Bichette is slashing .276/.317/.436 with 11 home runs and 48 RBI over 360 plate appearances in 2025, significantly above his 2024 numbers when he registered a paltry .598 OPS across 336 trips to the dish (he missed half the season due to injury).

The two-time All-Star also owns a lifetime .288/.330/.463 slash line, so he has historically been a good hitter since entering the big leagues in 2019.

Bichette is not the greatest defensive shortstop, but at this point, the Guardians need bats, and he would provide that for them.

Of course, the massive elephant in the room is that the Orlando native is slated to hit free agency next winter, and Cleveland does not seem likely to surrender substantial assets for a likely rental.

Not only that, but the Blue Jays probably won't be parting ways with Bichette so long as they are still contending by the deadline.

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