It’s been well documented that Bo Bichette had a rough start to his New York Mets career. His numbers plunged at the start of 2026 after playing a pivotal role in the Toronto Blue Jays’ run to the World Series last fall. For a player heralded as someone who delivers with the game on the line, Bichette had yet to deliver a signature moment with his new team. But that all changed in the Mets’ series finale against the San Francisco Giants.

Entering the bottom of the eighth inning, New York trailed 2-0. The Mets got on the board thanks to a Brett Baty solo home run. Later on in the frame, Juan Soto came to the plate with a runner on third and two outs. After getting into a 2-0 count, the Giants elected to intentionally walk him. As a result, Bichette came to the plate with the go-ahead run at first. He made San Francisco pay for that decision.

Giants reliever Carson Seymour threw an inside slider, and Bichette crushed it, putting the Mets in front with a three-run home run to left field. New York went on to win 4-2, taking two of three against the Giants. Despite being out of playoff contention for quite some time, the fans at Citi Field made that moment feel special.

“Bo’s [Bichette] a star. Stars should play like stars when they’re on the baseball field. That’s how we see him, that’s what we think about him. I think when you look at who he’s been since maybe the middle of May… It’s been really, really good,” interim manager Andy Green said postgame.

After a slow start, Bichette has looked more like himself offensively. Since June 3, he is slashing .304/.345/.481 (.826 OPS) with 11 home runs, 31 total extra-base hits and 43 runs batted in. Very similar to the numbers he produced in his final season with Toronto. As a key middle-of-the-order bat, he has been productive for an extended period now. But the big question is, will he be a part of this group in 2027?

Bichette signed a three-year, $126 million contract with player options for the second and third seasons. Going into this season, an opt-out after the first year felt all but guaranteed. But with his overall numbers down and a potential lockout looming, his situation has become more unclear.

Pressure will be on the Mets to deliver a winning team in 2027 after back-to-back seasons without making the postseason.New York has pieces in place to push towards that, including Soto, Francisco Lindor, Carson Benge and Nolan McLean, among others. But if the Mets are able to retain Bichette and get the version of him we have seen over the last few months, their lineup has the potential to be what they hoped to be this year.