Bo

Bichette

It’s way too early to draw any firm conclusions, but the social media chatter hasn’t been overly positive as Bichette transitions to the hot corner in his Mets debut. His defense will be picked apart throughout spring training but there are few reservations from an offensive standpoint, which is the primary concern for fantasy managers. New York has already confirmed that he won’t take over at shortstop temporarily while Francisco Lindor recovers from a hamate injury. The other notable developments here are fellow offseason acquisition Marcus Semien in the leadoff spot with Juan Soto heading over to left field. Here is the full lineup: Semien (2B), Soto (LF), Bichette (3B), Tyrone Taylor (CF), Ronny Mauricio (SS), MJ Melendez (RF), Austin Barnes (C), Jose Rojas (1B) and Chris Suero (DH).

The order, assuming Francisco Lindor is healthy enough to play on Opening Day, would be Lindor, Juan Soto batting second, and then Bichette hitting third. Presumably, Jorge Polanco would follow Bichette in the cleanup spot. It seems likely that Bichette will get plenty of RBI opportunities batting behind Soto, should this order come to fruition.

Bichette will make $42 million per year, with opt outs after each season, and he gets a full no-trade clause. The Mets intend to deploy Bichette at third base, a position he’s never played before as a pro. That’ll likely result in Brett Baty logging outfield time, though he should remain very much a part of the Mets’ plans. Bichette is a little weaker of a fantasy bet in Citi Field than he would have been in Philly or back in Toronto, but hitting next to Juan Soto in the top-third of the order is still pretty nice. He’s a borderline top-10 fantasy shortstop.

The deal includes opt-outs after each season. The quick response from the Mets after missing out on Kyle Tucker sees them bringing in Bichette for third base. That seemed like it was going to be former top prospect Brett Baty’s spot, but he could now get some work at first and DH; he still ought to be in the lineup against righties one way or the other. Bichette appeared Philadelphia-bound until the Mets stepped up their offer following the Tucker sweepstakes. Perhaps the Phillies could now use their spending power to make a run at lefty Framber Valdez.

Gelb asserts that “The club’s interest in Bichette is legitimate,” and there are some who think the hiring of Don Mattingly, Bichette’s bench coach in Toronto, makes Philadelphia the favorite. As Gelb writes, “if [the meeting] results in a deal, it would likely require the team to move on from roster mainstays J.T. Realmuto and Alec Bohm.” That would assume that Bichette slots in at third base with Bryson Stott remaining at second base. The need to move on from Realmuto would simply be a financial one. As Gelb notes, “the combination of money allocated for Realmuto being unspent and Bichette’s willingness to move off shortstop has opened the door” for the Phillies to approach Bichette with serious interest. This situation could escalate in the next few days.

With Kazuma Okamoto now in Toronto, the only spot for Bichette is at second base, and the Blue Jays have Ernie Clement currently slotted in to play there. Rosenthal believes that the Blue Jays would be more inclined to let Bichette walk and try to spend money to bring Kyle Tucker on board. If the Blue Jays are out on Bichette, that would leave the Yankees, Cubs, Phillies, and Red Sox, who reportedly prefer to add Alex Bregman.

The Phillies join the Yankees, Cubs, Dodgers, Red Sox and Blue Jays as teams that are known to have interest in the 27-year-old. With Trea Turner locked in at shortstop and Bryson Stott set at second base, the most logical scenario would have Bichette playing third base for the Phillies if he were to ultimately sign there. Bichette has told interested teams that he is willing to move to the hot corner under the right scenario. With so many big market teams interested and the available impact options dwindling, expect Bichette to do very well for himself in free agency.

This really should have been the obvious play the whole time. Even if Bichette might be a realistic shortstop option for a couple of more years, he wasn’t under any circumstances going to finish his next contract at the position and he’d almost certainly be a better option at second right away. Plus, there are many more contenders in need of help at second than at short.

The big surprise here is Seager since his name hasn’t come up at all in trade discussions this offseason. It’s abundantly clear that the Red Sox, who have a surplus of young big-league caliber pitching prospects to deal, are planning to upgrade at either second or third base this offseason since they’ve been active in trade discussions for multiple targets while also pursuing free agents Alex Bregman, Bo Bichette and Eugenio Suárez. Get your popcorn ready.

The Red Sox allegedly would like to bring back Alex Bregman to play third base, but they appear to be seriously interested in adding Bichette as another option. If Bichette were to come to Boston, he could perhaps move to second base and allow Marcelo Mayer to play third, or the Red Sox could slide Trevor Story back to second base and put Bichette at short. Bichette’s plus contact ability and line drive approach would play really well against the Green Monster, but we are still in the early stages here.