Phillies' pursuit of Bo Bichette could gift Yankees a prime consolation prize

While the New York Yankees have shown interest in Bo Bichette, it looks like they're about to fall behind in yet another race this offseason. The Toronto Blue Jays and Chicago Cubs are lurking in the chase, but it's the Philadelphia Phillies who seem to be jumping out in front of the pack, setting a meeting with the star free agent in the coming days.

The true tenor of the Yankees' interest in Bichette is unknown. While it's not hard fall in love with the two-time All-Star's skills, he's no longer a viable shortstop, and a move to second base doesn't solve a problem for the Yankees. He is a right-handed bat that makes a ton of contact, though, and both of those traits are appealing.

More than likely, Bichette is nothing more than a ploy to leverage Cody Bellinger. Bellinger isn't a right-handed hitter, but his reverse splits make him dangerous against lefties all the same. Like Bichette, he makes a lot of contact and rarely strikes out, but he actually can fill a hole in left field.

The Yankees should let Bichette go by, and if they do and he lands in Philadelphia, the ensuing fallout could gift them a perfect consolation prize.

The Yankees could capitalize on the Phillies landing Bo Bichette by trading for Alec Bohm

If the Phillies end up signing Bichette, they'll have their own logjam to sort out. It's been reported that in the event they sign the former Blue Jay, they will then look to trade third baseman Alec Bohm. Bohm, 29, avoided arbitration by agreeing to a $10.2 million contract and is in his final year of team control.

Philadelphia will be stocked in the infield and would still like to reunite with catcher J.T. Realmuto, and clearing Bohm from the books will help them achieve that goal.

Bohm checks a lot of boxes for the Yankees. He's right-handed, and while he was pretty bad defensively at third, he's improved over the last two years, posting four outs above average in 2024, and taking a slight step back, recording -2 last season. Average-ish is the best way to describe him with the glove.

The important thing is that he hits from the right side. Bohm annihilates southpaws with a career .305/.354/.507 mark against them. Overall, his offensive profile is that of a poor man's Bellinger or Bichette. He slashed .287/.331/.409 with 11 homers in 2025 and is a career .279 hitter. Like the other two, he rarely strikes out, posting a 16.3% K-rate last season and a 17.6% mark for his career.

Power isn't something that Bohm brings in droves. His career-high in homers is 20 back in 2023, but he's not some light-hitting also-ran. In 2025, Bohm posted a 90.8 miles per hour average exit velocity and a 46.4% hard hit rate, both metrics were in the 66th percentile. He rarely whiffs (14.6%) and often squares the ball up (32.5% squared-up rate), and both of those numbers were 93rd percentile performances.

Bohm isn't like many hitters who chase launch angle, and instead spray line drives all over the field, but he consistently makes hard contact.

He could platoon with Ryan McMahon at third, plus he has experience at first, allowing him to get at-bats there when Ben Rice catches or needs to take a seat against a tough lefty. That presence would free up Amed Rosario to be more of a utility man, giving the Yankees a right-handed option at second, and possibly playing more in the outfield, where, yet again, a righty presence is needed.

A trade wouldn't cost much. Philly has already telegraphed what they will do, effectively killing their leverage. At $10.2 million, Bohm isn't expensive, but he's also not cheap, which will limit his market. Finally, he's a one-year rental.

The Yankees should let the Phillies get Bichette and then gladly accept their silver medal by helping Philadelphia out of a jam and taking Bohm off their hands.