Mets sign Bo Bichette in the wake of losing out on the Kyle Tucker sweepstakes
The Mets quickly rebounded from losing Kyle Tucker, signing Bo Bichette to a 3/$126 deal. The deal contains opt outs. And if you’re one of those who hate that particular provision, somehow Bichette gets an additional $5 million if he exercises one of those opt outs. That’s right – he doesn’t give the club money back, he gets more money!
Bichette is expected to play 3B for the Mets, leaving Brett Baty without a position. The only way this makes sense is if Baty is sent out in a deal for a SP or OF. Bichette at3B makes sense, as he’s no longer a starting-caliber defensive SS. And with Marcus Semien acquired to play 2B, third was the only spot left on the diamond.
While Bichette is not a good defensive shortstop, he’s certainly capable of playing the position in a sporadic basis, which might make carrying Luisangel Acuna make even less sense, if possible.
Coming off a 3.8 fWAR season, Bichette will be in his age-28 campaign in 2026. He had an injury-shortened year in 2024, but in the three previous seasons, he posted fWAR totals of 3.9-4.9 – making him a strong offensive player. Last year’s 134 wRC+ was a career-high for a season where he played at least 50 games.
Just like with the proposed deal for Tucker, it’s an overpay on the dollar-to-expected WAR scale. Maybe a move off shortstop will increase Bichette’s overall value by a small amount. Regardless, much like with Tucker, it seems like a bit of a panic move here from my office chair.
Hopefully with another bat in the lineup, the Mets can turn to the trade market to address their other needs. The club still needs an outfielder from anyone’s perspective and it’s my opinion they could use a top-notch SP, too.
Happy to have him on the team. Infield just got more solid. Can Baty play first? $60 million for Tucker was absurd. As is $51 million for Soto. $34 million for Lindor is not chicken feed but almost seems reasonable these days. Now on to getting a starting pitcher!!!
They had to make a move after losing Tucker on an absurd contract to LA. What they offered was absurd too. As is the Bichette deal but it’s likely only one year. Zero regrets about getting out from the Nimmo contract and avoiding a long term Alonso deal.
That said, I am curious about how Bichette gets immediately slotted into 3B. Polanco seems to be just as likely, with Bichette playing 1B. As long as they are playing people out of position, why not Polanco/Bichette/Baty fill 1B/3B/LF in some combination? We have four Phillips head screwdrivers in our toolbox but no hammer.