All throughout the offseason you’ll hear rumors and reports floating around that the Red Sox are involved with various players. Some are more plausible than others, and more often than not nothing comes of it.

One rumor, however, caught my attention, largely because it didn’t make much sense. Throughout the winter there have been murmurs that the Red Sox have been in touch with free agent shortstop Bo Bichette, and during the Winter Meetings the two sides reportedly met over Zoom.

Related Articles

Red Sox promote Ben Buck to director of pitching

Upgrading lineup will be a tricky needle for Red Sox to thread

Red Sox flip top pitching prospect to Nationals for left-hander

Red Sox mailbag: Should the Red Sox try to sign Kazuma Okamoto to bolster 2026 lineup?

Where do Red Sox stand after underwhelming Winter Meetings?

On the surface that’s reasonable since Bichette is one of the top free agent hitters available, but with Trevor Story under contract for another two years adding Bichette would have also seemed redundant.

As it turns out, maybe not.

Wednesday morning MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand reported on MLB Network that Bichette has begun telling teams he’s willing to play second base, not just shortstop. That would presumably expand his market of potential suitors, and it would make him a much more attractive option for the Red Sox, who do not currently have an established everyday second baseman.

How does Bo Bichette’s market change as a second baseman?@Feinsand expands on reports that the slugger is willing to make the position switch. https://t.co/vtzLIkcszv pic.twitter.com/giIcrBWgAh

— MLB Network (@MLBNetwork) December 17, 2025

He could also represent an alternative for the Red Sox if third baseman Alex Bregman winds up signing elsewhere.

In terms of what he brings to the table, Bichette checks a lot of boxes.

Still only 27 years old, Bichette has been among the game’s top contact hitters ever since he debuted for the Toronto Blue Jays alongside Vladimir Guerrero Jr. in 2019. He’s a two-time All-Star with a .294 career average and more than 900 career hits, and this past season he bounced back from an injury-riddled 2024 by batting .311 with 18 home runs, 94 RBI, an .840 OPS and 3.5 wins above replacement.

He missed a month at the end of the season with a sprained knee but returned for the World Series and batted .348 with a home run, eight RBI and a .923 OPS.

As far as how he’d fit with the Red Sox, Bichette bats right-handed, which would help balance the club’s lefty-heavy lineup. He’s not the power threat that Kyle Schwarber and Pete Alonso are, but he has three seasons with more than 20 homers — including a career-high 29 in 2021.

While Bichette can spray the ball all over the field, most of his home runs last year were pulled to left, which suggests he’d be able to use the Green Monster to his advantage. He’s certainly done so throughout his career. In 35 career games at Fenway Park, Bichette has a .329 average with six home runs, 10 doubles, 30 RBI and a .907 OPS.

His 16 extra-base hits at Fenway are second only to Camden Yards (18) for most at an opposing ballpark.

The major black marks on Bichette throughout his career have been his defense and durability.

Bichette is a poor defensive shortstop and last season his minus-12 defensive runs saved was tied for 10th worst in MLB across all positions. His range ranked within the bottom 1% and he possessed below average arm strength, per Statcast, and in the past he’s recorded two seasons with more than 20 errors.

As far as injuries go, Bichette hasn’t played more than 139 games in a season since 2022.

As a second baseman, however, those issues may not be as pronounced. He played second for the first time in his MLB career upon returning from injury in the World Series, and in five games Bichette did not record an error and largely handled himself well.

Best of all for Boston, signing Bichette would mean taking him out of the Toronto Blue Jays lineup, weakening a division rival that just came within a whisker of winning the World Series.

Even as a second baseman, Bichette won’t come cheap. ESPN’s Kiley McDaniel recently projected Bichette will land a five-year, $150 million contract in free agency, which would put him at $25 million annually assuming his deal doesn’t include any deferred money.

That’s absolutely within the Red Sox’s budget. The question is how Craig Breslow envisions the infield over the long run.

Consider a couple of possible scenarios.

One, the Red Sox back up the Brink’s truck and sign both Bregman and Bichette. Boston goes into next season with a starting infield of Bregman, Story, Bichette and either Triston Casas or Romy Gonzalez at first, and that’s more or less the group for the next two years until Story’s contract is up.

Most fans would love that, but the downside is it would block Marcelo Mayer’s path to a starting role and possibly lead to him being traded.

Another, more realistic possibility given the Red Sox’s recent track record is they would sign one of Bregman or Bichette and have Mayer slot in at whichever of second or third base is vacant. They would then have to add another bat to actually upgrade the lineup rather than keep it steady relative to last season, but if the initial choice was between Bregman or Bichette, who might they choose?

We know what kind of a difference-maker Bregman can be both on the field and in the clubhouse, but if the Red Sox are wary of investing too heavily in older players, Bichette being four years younger and still in his prime will be appealing.

One last scenario that could come into play is the Red Sox signing Bregman and then choosing between signing Bichette or trading to Arizona’s Ketel Marte to play second.

Bichette is younger and will only cost money — though admittedly more, likely at least $25 million annually — while Marte is older but cheaper, being owed approximately $102.5 million over the next six years, with $41 million of that deferred. But that affordability would come at a cost, since prying the 32-year-old away from Arizona would require the Red Sox to give up several top prospects, like Mayer or starting pitchers like Connelly Early or Payton Tolle.

Personally if it were up to me I’d just pay for Bichette, but Breslow may not have that luxury.

No matter how you slice it, Bichette being willing to switch to second base opens up a world of new possibilities, and Red Sox fans will want to follow his free agency closely in the coming weeks.