Bo Bichette just opened the door for the Mariners to do something wild

Every offseason, one detail can reshape a player’s market, and change which teams suddenly make sense as fits. Bo Bichette’s willingness to move to second base is one of those details, and it creates an unexpected path for the Seattle Mariners to get aggressive.

According to Mark Feinsand of MLB.com, Bichette has let teams know he’s willing to move off shortstop and sign as a second baseman. Though it’s not a surprise, it’s also not a throwaway detail. It alters the market. And for Seattle — a team that has spent the last few years trying to build a contending roster while also hunting for a reliable, top-of-the-lineup bat at the keystone — it’s the kind of shift that should make Jerry Dipoto’s phone feel a little lighter in his pocket.

The Mariners just got a real reason to dream big on Bo Bichette

Despite the upside with Cole Young and Ryan Bliss, second base is still a big question for the Mariners.

J.P. Crawford isn’t going anywhere at short this upcoming season, and the Mariners have spent too long building stability up the middle to blow it up for the sake of a splash. But adding Bichette while keeping Crawford planted? That's a solid structure. And it would be a very Mariners-specific fix.

Seattle’s been a team that can pitch with anyone, hang in any series, and still find itself losing 3–2 because the offense turns into a three-hour scavenger hunt for a timely hit. Bichette doesn’t just represent “more talent.” He represents something this lineup has often lacked: a true table-setter who can keep pressure on defenses every time he’s at the plate — and he’s coming off the kind of bounce-back season that makes the idea feel less like a fantasy. 

After an injury-marred 2024, Bichette rebounded in 2025 by slashing .311/.357/.483 with 18 home runs, 94 RBI, 3.5 WAR, and a 129 OPS+ across 139 games. That’s impact production, the kind that changes how opponents have to pitch to the top of your order. It’s the money that would be the scary part — and also the point.

ESPN’s latest free-agent projections put Bichette at five years, $150 million. That’s a “this would dwarf anything Dipoto’s done in free agency” contract. However, if you’re ever going to justify a swing like that, it’s when your window is real, your pitching is your identity, and you’re one legitimate offensive engine away from feeling like an October problem instead of an October hope.

Seattle isn’t alone in noticing this opening. The entire premise of Bichette’s market changing is that teams either don’t see him as a long-term shortstop, or they have dire needs for an upgrade at the keystone. Once he’s a “2B option,” suddenly more contenders can talk themselves into it — meaning the Mariners don’t get to casually lurk. 

Is it risky? Of course. Big contracts always are, and any time a player is changing positions, you’re buying both the bat and the adjustment.

But this is the door Bichette opened: the Mariners can chase a star without creating a defensive identity crisis. They can upgrade second base in the loudest way imaginable. They can add an impact bat that changes the feel of the lineup, not just the depth chart.

Big swings aren’t the Mariners’ usual style, but windows don’t stay open forever. If there was ever a time to go all in, Jerry, this may just be it.