Phillies Rumors: Thrilling Bo Bichette news puts Philly firmly in driver's seat

Even though spring training feels like it's right around the corner, with five weeks until pitchers and catchers begin reporting, there's still plenty of offseason left. There are also plenty of free agents still available, including top names like Bo Bichette.

There's a good chance that the Phillies are done with big additions, barring re-signing J.T. Realmuto. Nonetheless, Bichette has been a hot topic around Philadelphia on and off throughout the offseason.

Recently, the Bichette fervor has really picked up. Media members and fans are imagining what the lineup might look like, and more importantly, how the Phillies could actually sign the 27-year-old star infielder.

Phillies to meet with Bo Bichette as offseason suddenly takes an exciting turn

Well, while many of us are doubting that we live in a timeline in which the Phillies would actually splurge on Bichette, the latest news will have plenty of fans in a tizzy. According to the newest report on Thursday from The Athletic's Matt Gelb and Ken Rosenthal, the Phillies will be meeting with Bichette via video conference (subscription required) in the coming days.

“The club’s interest in Bichette is legitimate, and if it results in a deal, it would likely require the team to move on from roster mainstays J.T. Realmuto and Alec Bohm,” Gelb and Rosenthal report.

While this is a step in the right direction, it could very well be just setting Phillies fans up for more disappointment. But there's more than one reason why this makes sense now, ranging from Don Mattingly's arrival to the possibility that the Phillies are willing to pivot from Realmuto.

The New York Post's Jon Heyman has Philadelphia as his top landing spot (subscription required). The MLB insider connected the dots between Bichette and the Phillies' recent hiring of Mattingly as their new bench coach.

"Bichette has a great relationship from Toronto with new Phillies bench coach Don Mattingly," Heyman notes. "The super focused, win-first Phillies would need to move 3B Alec Bohm, then use Bichette either at 3B or 2B (and move Bryson Stott to 3B). Phillies players were texting Bichette about the possibility last weekend, when Bichette was celebrating his wedding."

There's definitely no getting around the Mattingly-Bichette connection. The two spent three seasons together in Toronto, culminating in a trip to Game 7 of the World Series, which the Blue Jays lost, before Bichette hit free agency. The two had a close relationship that ended in the saddest and most tearjerking of moments.

However, fuzzy feelings aren't usually enough to sway professional athletes and their agents when it comes to finding a new contract. And if we're talking about fuzzy feelings, the Blue Jays, the organization that drafted Bichette and has been all he has known, would have the edge in that department.

Bichette is coming off a 2025 season in which he hit .311 with an .840 OPS, 18 home runs, 44 doubles, and 94 RBIs in 139 games but finished the year hobbled by injury. Inserting his consistent bat at the top of the lineup would give the Phillies a drastically different look, even if it means having to move on from Realmuto behind the plate. As Heyman and Gelb and Rosenthal all note, it would also require the front office to move on from Bohm.

Where this all goes from here is anyone's guess. At the end of the day, it will come down to dollars and term, like most negotiations. If the Phillies want him, Bichette is there for the taking.