After a meeting that went ‘very well’, the Phillies need to sign Bo Bichette and worry about roster construction later

On Monday, the Philadelphia Phillies hopped on a zoom call with Bo Bichette and while we anxiously awaited the result of the meeting, the only update we have received since is from Jon Heyman saying that everything went “very well” 

Heyman fired off a tweet yesterday saying that Bo Bichette admired the “first class” organization and his relationship with the Mattingly’s, along with the proximity to home during Spring Training were two keys that steered the conversation in the right direction. 

Bo Bichette conversation with Phillies went “very well” 

Bichette/Phillies meeting is said to have gone very well fwiw. Bichette admires “first class” organization. Other pluses: roster, park, Mattinglys link, spring proximity to home. Would Phils need to deal Bohm, do lesser C than JT? Other Bo suitors: Jays, Red Sox, NYY, LAD, more https://t.co/B4mhk4KUZO

— Jon Heyman (@JonHeyman) January 13, 2026

Bo Bitchette is elite.

He’s the most pure hitter available this offseason and is fresh off a monster bounce-back year with the Toronto Blue Jays. In 2025, Bichette hit .311 with an .840 OPS, with 44 doubles and 18 homers. Career-wise, he is a .294 hitter, which is a ridiculous baseline for a guy who has lived his entire career in the middle of the infield.

As we all know, the Phillies lineup has had too many Octobers where it turns into a cold-weather disappearance act. Bichette is the kind of bat that stays annoying for pitchers because he can hit your best pitch even when it is not in the zip code.

Leadoff laser for Bo Bichette! pic.twitter.com/KqJkyFS8Lb

— MLB (@MLB) June 21, 2025

Bo Bichette is the type of talent that you sign immediately and figure out the roster construction later.

I don’t care if Alec Bohm and Bryson Stott are still on the roster or if we’re all still waiting on JT Realmuto to come to his senses and re-sign with the Phillies.

I’m stoked that the meeting went well yesterday, but I’m still not seeing anything about an offer on the table to make sure that he’s playing ball in South Philly next season, which is a huge problem.

It’s not hard to have a nice conversation with someone. I talk to people I absolutely hate every day and the majority of those conversations are perfectly fine.

We need pen to paper. Period. 

While I certainly don’t give a shit about the money, it is worth mentioning. 

If the Phillies are seriously in this, it means they are comfortable going deeper into the Competitive Balance Tax tiers. The base CBT threshold is $244 million in 2026, and the surcharge thresholds climb from there.

That matters because the Phillies are already operating in the “we are not even pretending to reset” zone. One recent report citing Spotrac projections had their 2026 CBT payroll around $301.5 million even without JT Realmuto, which tells you how tight the math gets when you start adding another mega deal.

Bo Bichette is a real target, the Phillies are choosing a direction and it likely means at least one of these things happens:

• Alec Bohm gets moved, if there is a trade path that does not feel like a salary dump.
• Bryson Stott becomes the more valuable because of defense and control.
• Realmuto’s situation becomes even more urgent, because you cannot run six different timelines at once and call it a plan.

Looming behind all of it is Aidan Miller, the prospect the organization still views as a potential long-term infield answer. So yes, a Bichette deal would not “block” Miller forever, but it would force the Phillies to think like a team that expects Miller to matter soon.

That said, there’s no possible way that the Phillies can speak to Bo Bichette and not give him an offer he can’t refuse. Either way, the Phillies are at least exploring the one move that would instantly change the tone of their offseason, and maybe the tone of their lineup when October shows up again.

Bo Bichette is exactly that kind of move that changes everything. The Phillies better not screw this up. 

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