{"id":527896,"date":"2026-01-19T17:23:10","date_gmt":"2026-01-19T17:23:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/527896\/"},"modified":"2026-01-19T17:23:10","modified_gmt":"2026-01-19T17:23:10","slug":"grading-the-mets-bo-bichette-signing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/527896\/","title":{"rendered":"Grading the Mets\u2019 Bo Bichette signing"},"content":{"rendered":"

In a series of events that developed fast enough to give fans whiplash, the Mets went from missing<\/a> on Kyle Tucker to inking<\/a> Bo Bichette less than 24 hours later. The 27-year-old shortstop spurned a long-term deal<\/a> from the Phillies to sign an extremely player-friendly deal in New York; three years, $126 million, and\u2014most critically\u2014opt-outs after both year one and year two.<\/p>\n

You\u2019re no doubt familiar with Bichette, if for nothing other than his nearly-series-defining home run<\/a> in last year\u2019s World Series. Outside of that moment, he\u2019s been one of the better shortstops in baseball since debuting in 2019, posting a cumulative 120 wRC+ and cresting 3.8 fWAR in all but one season. The one outlier\u20142024\u2014was an injury plagued year in which Bichette struggled with a calf injury. He\u2019s a good player, at times bordering on a great one, and you usually want to add that kind of guy when you can.<\/p>\n

Advertisement<\/p>\n

At the same time, Bichette\u2019s profile is not typical. Ten years ago, we\u2019d have looked at the top of the scale swing rates and ~10th percentile chase rates and flatly said that Bichette\u2019s approach is problematic. Now we can recognize that he does a good enough job of swinging at the pitches he can damage such that his overall approach is broadly fine (as measured by SEAGER). Similarly, we might\u2019ve assumed his high BABIP was unsustainable, and his offense as a result was fake. Now we have batted ball data that largely backs up his outlier ability to find open grass.<\/p>\n

Even with that better understanding, you can see the warts. It\u2019d be better if Bichette swung and chased less. It\u2019d be better if he pulled the ball in the air more than 6.8% of the time. It\u2019s also great that he\u2019s a young free agent, but his exit velocities have already begun to decline, both in terms of max EV and 90th percentile. The recent history of lower body injuries\u2014the aforementioned calf problems and a wonky knee injury last season\u2014are concerning as well. We\u2019ve also not mentioned the defense, which has gone from bad at shortstop to unplayable. Not a direct problem for the Mets of course, but something that should be noted.<\/p>\n

Perhaps you\u2019re more optimistic about the above, which is valid. The roster fit, however, is undeniably odd. Prior to this move, the Mets had a solid starting infield\u2014Baty, Lindor, Semien, Polanco left to right\u2014and an obvious hole in the outfield. Now, Bichette is slated to play a position he\u2019s never played before (he\u2019ll probably be fine there) while Baty has been bumped into a super utility role. It\u2019s an odd allocation of resources, one that diminishes the net impact of the move.<\/p>\n

The cost here could be described as anything from \u201chigh\u201d to \u201castronomical.\u201d We already mentioned the contract terms, but here\u2019s what that actually translates to:<\/p>\n

Advertisement<\/p>\n