Bo Bichette

Age: 28 (3/5/98) B/T: R/R

Primary Stats: .260/.312/.390/.702, 18 HR, 78 RBI, 25 2B, 2 3B, 76 R, 166 H, 2 SB, 2 CS, 49 BB, 127 SO, 160 G, 696 PA

Advanced Stats: 1.9 fWAR, 0.7 bWAR, 97 OPS+, 96 wRC+, 18.2 K%, 7.0 BB%, .296 BABIP, .330 xwOBA

2026 salary: $42 million

Grade: C+

Review

It only took three games for the Citi Field boo birds to chirp for Bo Bichette, but he thought it was understandable given that he went 1-for-14 with eight strikeouts.

“If anything I thought it took too long,” he joked on March 29. “But I mean, I get it. I thought my at-bats were terrible too.”

It was mostly a rough go offensively into early June, with Bichette’s OPS sitting at a dismal .570 after an 0-for-3 showing in Seattle on June 2. At the time, that was fourth-worst OPS in baseball of 161 qualified hitters.

But the next night he went 4-for-4 with three RBIs and starting with that performance he slashed .289/.337/.447 in his final 99 games, which is in line with his career numbers (.288/.332/.456). The problem, which can be blamed on Bichette and many others, was that the Mets were 26-35 by then and never got closer than seven games below .500 the rest of the way.

Defensively, Bichette was solid playing third base for the first time in his career. He was one out above average (OAA) and made five errors in 113 games. In 47 games at short, filling in when Francisco Lindor was injured, he was negative-two outs above average with five errors. In 2025 with the Blue Jays, he was negative-13 outs above average in 132 games at short, so third base looks like a better spot.

2027 Preview

Bichette holds a player option for $42 million and has until five days after the World Series ends to make a decision. He will get a $5 million buyout if he opts out. If he comes back, he has a player option for 2028 for another $42 million.

“I’m having a great time here,” he told Will Sammon of The Athletic last month. “I’m enjoying my teammates and I think that the future here is bright. The team is building something good. There’s a winning atmosphere with veterans who are really great players and young players who are showing they can be winning players on a good team. So that’s exciting for me.”

Lindor wants him back and expects him to play better next season.

“I think he’s gonna be 10 (times) better than what he was this year,” Lindor said after the season finale on September 27. “He’s a really good hitter. A very unique hitter. And he’s gonna be even better year two playing third base. And I know he’s got a lot of fire in him that he’s gonna work very hard this offseason try to be the best version of himself. It would mean a lot. I would love to have him back, for sure.”

Lindor might have been speaking from experience. After slashing .285/.346/.488 over six years for Cleveland, he hit .230/.322/.412 in his first year in New York in 2021. The next season he finished ninth in MVP voting.