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The New York Yankees were clearly hoping for Anthony Volpe to be a lot better than what he’s shown over the first few years of his career. As the Yankees head into the offseason after the campaign ends, there’s a good chance they could be looking to replace him. If that’s the case, the Yankees will have a great option to pursue in Toronto Blue Jays shortstop Bo Bichette.

Rucker Haringy of Fansided highlighted the top free agents the Yankees should target, naming Bichette as one of three players they should “salivate” over—though that would bench Volpe.

“There are legitimate questions over whether or not Bo Bichette’s infield future lies at shortstop or third base. Fortunately for the Yankees, they can accommodate his offensive talents at either defensive position. The current Blue Jays’ star comes in at No. 6 on The Athletic’s ranking of projected 2026 MLB free agents. He’s hitting the market at a good time after enjoying a nice bounce-back season after his struggles in 2024. Bichette also happens to be the top potential shortstop hitting free agency by a wide margin…

“The clear implication here is that Bichette would likely put Volpe on the bench. One year of lower pressure for the young shortstop could be just what he needs to rejuvenate his career. The long-term plan could see Bichette move to third once he loses another step due to age-related regression,” he wrote .

Can Anthony Volpe Return to the Yankees’ Lineup?

The New York Yankees decided to bench Volpe against the Boston Red Sox on Sunday, a decision that didn’t come as much of a surprise. While the Yankees might not want to admit defeat on Volpe just yet, it’s tough to ignore that he’s hitting .208 with 122 strikeouts and has been one of the worst defenders in Major League Baseball at shortstop, if not the worst.

However, according to Aaron Boone, that doesn’t mean that Volpe won’t be in the lineup long-term.

“We’ll see,” Boone said on Sunday, per Brendan Kuty of The Athletic.

“I haven’t made any definitive (decisions). Let me kind of get through today and do all we can to win tonight and we’ll see heading into tomorrow.”

Will Blue Jays Star Be on New York’s Radar?

If the New York Yankees can replace Volpe with Bichette, who is on pace to lead the American League in hits again with a .304 batting average and 164 hits, doing so could be the right move.

However, giving up on Volpe this early might also be a questionable decision, as he still has some potential to be an above-average player in the league.

If one thing is for certain, Volpe has heard all of the heat, but Boone doesn’t believe it’s impacting him too much.

“I don’t think he’s overly affected by those things,” Boone said. “This is just a young player that, as you guys know, works his tail off and is super competitive and is trying to find that next level of consistency in his game offensively. I’ve said this before, I think he’s mentally very tough and totally wired to handle all the things that go with being a big leaguer in the city and being a young big leaguer that’s got a lot of expectations on him.”

Jon Conahan covers the NBA and NFL for Heavy.com. Since 2019, his sports coverage has appeared at Sports Illustrated, oddschecker, ClutchPoints and Sportskeeda. More about Jon Conahan