Bichette - thoughts?

[VladdyAlomar]

Kinda liking that we didn't re-sign him. Thoughts? 

[G-Snarls]

Because he's had one bad series to start the season with the Mets? Nah

I wanted him back to play 2B on a reasonable contract. That didn't happen. 

Team pivoted well and Okamoto looks really good.

So I think we're fine without Bo but I still wish him well and certainly can't blame him for taking the insane offer the Mets made him. 

 

[Spanky__99]

44 minutes ago, VladdyAlomar said:

Kinda liking that we didn't re-sign him. Thoughts? 

You're an idiot. 

[Spanky__99]

39 minutes ago, G-Snarls said:

Because he's had one bad series to start the season with the Mets? Nah

I wanted him back to play 2B on a reasonable contract. That didn't happen. 

Team pivoted well and Okamoto looks really good.

So I think we're fine without Bo but I still wish him well and certainly can't blame him for taking the insane offer the Mets made him. 

 

💯

[Stangstag]

2 hours ago, VladdyAlomar said:

Kinda liking that we didn't re-sign him. Thoughts? 

We'll really have no clue whether it was a good move or not til like 2030.

But bottom line is we were never gonna go 40mil per year for him.

I think the infield defense is a lot better with him gone, and we are basically paying Okamoto+Cease AAV combined for what Bichette is getting.

If this means we can sign another premier free agent over the next year or two because we aren't paying Bo then yeah its probably a net win.

[mphenhef]

I don't think he should be a 3B but he will go on some tears with the bat and carry the Mets for whole months.  We will miss him during those times for sure.

[Olerud363.354]

19 hours ago, VladdyAlomar said:

Kinda liking that we didn't re-sign him. Thoughts? 

If healthy he will be missed.   We will have to see.  If it turns out his legs start affecting his hitting you could be right.  If his legs are fine and plays 154 healthy games he could get Soto induced MVP votes (Soto's on base percentage gets him 140 rbis and he makes a run for the batting title). 

[Governator]

We know what Bichette brings over a season and there is no question he was a pivotal part of this team's success, even in an injured season like last year.

He got himself one of the richest deals in MLB and you can't be mad at that. I hope he does well with NY.

[VladdyAlomar]

On 3/31/2026 at 9:15 AM, mphenhef said:

I don't think he should be a 3B but he will go on some tears with the bat and carry the Mets for whole months.  We will miss him during those times for sure.

Bichette's start at third has been underwhelming. Through 27 at-bats, he's like hitting .111 with a .138 OBP and .249 OPS—no home runs, only 3 hits, and 8 strikeouts in 20 plate appearances lols. I think this transition from shortstop highlights defensive limitations like poor range (1st percentile), arm strength (36th), and sprint speed (21st). With a -45 wRC+ and NO real signs of offensive surges, honestly he's not really carrying the lineup. 

[Brownie19]

42 minutes ago, VladdyAlomar said:

Bichette's start at third has been underwhelming. Through 27 at-bats, he's like hitting .111 with a .138 OBP and .249 OPS—no home runs, only 3 hits, and 8 strikeouts in 20 plate appearances lols. I think this transition from shortstop highlights defensive limitations like poor range (1st percentile), arm strength (36th), and sprint speed (21st). With a -45 wRC+ and NO real signs of offensive surges, honestly he's not really carrying the lineup. 

I don't know if there's any stats to back this up, but I've always had the feeling that players often struggle in their first year on a new team.  Obviously not everyone does, but it doesn't seem uncommon good players to struggle in year 1.  Added pressure maybe?  New surroundings/routine?  New coaching?  Don't know.

[Terminator]

I think the concerns over his 3B defense are overblown.

There will be some hiccups early on but it's an easier position to play than SS.

I don't expect him to be good over there, but if he's a barely playable SS then he should be a playable 3B.

[mphenhef]

My concern isn't his range, which should play there.  It's his arm strength.  He often struggled with the throws at SS and they only get longer at 3B.  Add to that the fact he is throwing to a first time 1B in Polanco and I'm not sure it will work out well.

[JaysAllMighty]

There's no competing with a billionaire.  He's certainly not worth over $40M a year.

Maybe $20M at the most.

[G-Snarls]

2 hours ago, JaysAllMighty said:

There's no competing with a billionaire.  He's certainly not worth over $40M a year.

Maybe $20M at the most.

And he wasn't getting that until the Mets lost Tucker and got desperate

What a crazy off season 

[Jays24]

We will miss his batting and I think he would have been a very good defensive 2B.  Wish we tried to lock him up but seems like he possibly didnt really want to come back as he was rumoured to be going to Philly.

[mphenhef]

10 hours ago, Jays24 said:

We will miss his batting and I think he would have been a very good defensive 2B.  Wish we tried to lock him up but seems like he possibly didnt really want to come back as he was rumoured to be going to Philly.

I firmly believe the Jays didn’t really want him back, especially once they had to make the call early on Okamoto.

[jaysblue]

On 4/1/2026 at 11:37 PM, Brownie19 said:

I don't know if there's any stats to back this up, but I've always had the feeling that players often struggle in their first year on a new team.  Obviously not everyone does, but it doesn't seem uncommon good players to struggle in year 1.  Added pressure maybe?  New surroundings/routine?  New coaching?  Don't know.

Would be an interesting study or review over the last 2 or so decades. 

Some top guys seem to succeed. Look at Gausman when he came to Toronto or even when Donaldson was traded to the Jays. But yeah there are players who also struggle in their first year on a new team.

[Terminator]

21 hours ago, mphenhef said:

My concern isn't his range, which should play there.  It's his arm strength.  He often struggled with the throws at SS and they only get longer at 3B.  Add to that the fact he is throwing to a first time 1B in Polanco and I'm not sure it will work out well.

The throw from the SS hole is longer than the throw from 3B. It's close, but SSs on average have stronger arms.

His arm at SS was usually close to 40th percentile and it will play up at 3B, not down. 

[jaysblue]

1 hour ago, mphenhef said:

I firmly believe the Jays didn’t really want him back, especially once they had to make the call early on Okamoto.

Yeah I also believe the Jays weren't too interested in bringing him back unless it was on their terms (moving to second base and not crazy AAV). If they really wanted to bring Bo back, he would have been signed in November. 

[mphenhef]

3 minutes ago, Terminator said:

The throw from the SS hole is longer than the throw from 3B. It's close, but SSs on average have stronger arms.

His arm at SS was usually close to 40th percentile and it will play up at 3B, not down. 

40th percentile in velocity.  What about accuracy?

[Terminator]

Just now, mphenhef said:

40th percentile in velocity.  What about accuracy?

I don't know but it probably isn't great? He's not a good defensive player. But at 3B he should suck a lot less than he did at SS.

But the throw from SS is on average a longer throw and the baserunner has a greater chance to beat things out because the ball takes long to reach the fielder.

It's just basic defensive spectrum stuff, SSs should be better when you move them down to other infield positions. 

 

[Jays24]

2 hours ago, mphenhef said:

I firmly believe the Jays didn’t really want him back, especially once they had to make the call early on Okamoto.

Ya I think they saw the declining speed/health and saw that his only real skill left was elite hitting with not enough power to justify a massive longterm deal.  I think they wanted him back but on a smaller deal than what he got offered from Philly.  

If he bounces back, he'll have the option to be a free agent next offseason and maybe we go after him depending on how we do this season.  He'll be one of the best free agents again next year too.

[max silver]

23 hours ago, mphenhef said:

My concern isn't his range, which should play there.  It's his arm strength.  He often struggled with the throws at SS and they only get longer at 3B.  Add to that the fact he is throwing to a first time 1B in Polanco and I'm not sure it will work out well.

I think Bo has more than enough arm strength to man third base. I believe his issues throwing stemmed more from a lack of accuracy although I think he was largely cleaning this up in recent seasons.

[hanton]

On 4/3/2026 at 12:55 PM, max silver said:

I think Bo has more than enough arm strength to man third base. I believe his issues throwing stemmed more from a lack of accuracy although I think he was largely cleaning this up in recent seasons.

Agree on this, like a lite version of the yips.  Had a good game at the plate yesterday though.

I'm a Bo fan, big loss IMO

[G-Snarls]

On 4/3/2026 at 10:55 AM, max silver said:

I think Bo has more than enough arm strength to man third base. I believe his issues throwing stemmed more from a lack of accuracy although I think he was largely cleaning this up in recent seasons.

He also used to make poor decisions too often. Ie. Make throws to 1B that went offline when he had no chance at all of getting the runner in the first place.  He does that way less now. 

[mphenhef]

With as bad a start to the season as Bo has had with the bat, he'd still rank 3rd on the Jays in hits and be tied for second in doubles.  That says more about the Jays hitters than Bo I think.

[Brownie19]

51 minutes ago, mphenhef said:

With as bad a start to the season as Bo has had with the bat, he'd still rank 3rd on the Jays in hits and be tied for second in doubles.  That says more about the Jays hitters than Bo I think.

He has a 36 wRC+ and is -0.3 WAR.  He'd literally be our worst offensive player.  Interesting choice to try and use some random counting stats to mask this.

[max silver]

31 minutes ago, Brownie19 said:

He has a 36 wRC+ and is -0.3 WAR.  He'd literally be our worst offensive player.  Interesting choice to try and use some random counting stats to mask this.

Sadly Barger and Lukes have been worse offensively than this.

[mphenhef]

1 hour ago, Brownie19 said:

He has a 36 wRC+ and is -0.3 WAR.  He'd literally be our worst offensive player.  Interesting choice to try and use some random counting stats to mask this.

oh, I wasn't trying to mask it at all.  I just found it interesting that despite his very clear struggles he wouldn't be at the bottom of our group in terms of production.  Admittedly, a big part of it is we have many players in time shares.

[Bob_Gratton]

If Atkins wanted him back, he will have done it, instead waiting Dodgers sign Tucker. Bo will have been better at 2B, and offense will have been better having Bo at fourth rank of batting order, instead of Okamoto or Barger.