Yankees weren't signing Bo Bichette for most obvious reason fans are overlooking

Bo Bichette is a New York Met, thus ending any fan's dream that he'd end up with the New York Yankees. The former Toronto Blue Jays star jumped on the wave of short-term, high-AAV deals that have become uber popular this winter, scoring a three-year, $126 million commitment.

The buzz about the soon-to-be 28-year-old infielder being a potential Yankees' fallback option as negotiations with Cody Bellinger had hit a snag grew recently, though opinions varied wildly as to how real their interest was.

We now know that signing Bichette isn't happening, but it was clear from the potential fallout that a deal with the two-time All-Star was never going to happen.

There's an obvious reason why the Yankees were never actual threats to sign Bo Bichette

Anyone who thought the Yankees were actually going to bring Bichette into the fold was missing the elephant in the room — Jazz Chisholm Jr. If signed, Bichette, who no longer has the chops defensively to handle shortstop, would have been the everyday second baseman, forcing a trade of Chisholm Jr. (or an unpopular move to third base).

Vague trade rumors surrounding the Yankees' star second baseman have wafted through the air at various points this winter, but they've never really made much sense. Chisholm Jr. is in his final year of team control, which diminishes his value, and his $10.2 million salary for 2026 is much more affordable than the $42 million that Bichette will reel in annually.

There's an argument that Chisholm Jr. is the better player, too. Bichette slashed .311/.357/483 with 18 homers in 139 games. The batting average is shiny for sure, and the low-average production the Yankees have gotten from Jazz and others in the lineup has frustrated fans at times.

However, Chisholm Jr. slashed .242/.332/.481 with 31 homers in just 130 games. He also added 31 steals compared to Bichette's four. Defensively, there's no contest between the two. While Bichette was playing shortstop, he posted a putrid -13 outs above average in 1,139 innings. Chisholm Jr. recorded eight outs above average in just 851 innings at second.

You could presume that Bichette would get better moving to an easier position at second base, but not nearly enough to match Chisholm Jr.'s stellar glove work. At the end of the day, Chisholm Jr. has more power, a higher walk rate, better base running skills, and a better glove, while Bichette only truly wins out when it comes to his exceptional bat-to-ball ability.

By fWAR, Chisholm Jr. was the better player with a 4.4 mark versus Bichette's 3.8 number, and it should be noted that the calculation gives Bichette a boost for playing the more difficult position, even if he played it poorly.

At the end of the day, signing Bichette would have forced the Yankees to trade Chisholm Jr. at a point where he wouldn't net much in return. At the same time, they'd be paying four times the money for what is at best a lateral move in at second base, and likely a downgrade.

Jazz will likely command a similar contract next offseason, so if the Yankees are going to give that money to someone, why not throw it at the guy they already know (they won't), rather than a player with a different skill set but equal (or worse) talent? They wouldn't. And that's why Bichette was nothing more than a leverage ploy against Bellinger.