Bo Bichette Is About To Define Mets Offseason With His Decision

The World Series came to an abbreviated end on Wednesday night as the Milwaukee Brewers euthanized the Tampa Bay Rays, 4-1, and the New York Mets offseason is now about to enter the “As Bo’s World Turns” phase. 

Bo Bichette has a big decision to make, and the infielder has five days to make it. He’s got a $42 million option he can pick up and turn down, and his call will define much of what the Mets will do or not do between now and Dec. 1, which is when the lockout will almost certainly begin. There are two possibilities here, so let’s play them out a bit to see what might happen. 

If Bichette opts in. . . 

This is considered the likely decision, and it does simplify things for the Mets, although not necessarily in a good way. It means they’ll have an offensively productive third baseman who’s not great defensively, which will raise several other questions going forward. 

The likelihood is that the Mets would keep Bichette at third, but what if they don’t? New York is no longer locked in to playing Marcus Semien at second base, and both GM David Stearns and owner Steve Cohen have both offered variations on the “nothing is promised” when it comes to Semien’s future as a middle infielder with the team. 

If the Mets do move Bichette to second, he goes from deficient to average or above as a defender. That would trigger a host of other possible moves, with the least likely one being shifting Brett Baty back to third, even though Baty was supbar offensively for most of the season. 

If Bichette opts out. . . 

This is the wild card scenario, and it would seriously scramble the Mets’ offseason plans. Baty would temporarily slot in at third, with an emphasis on “temporarily.” 

The search would then begin in earnest for a new third baseman, but that would create a different set of problems. The free agent options aren’t great, and there’s no way the Mets would want to go into the season with rookie Jefferson Rojas at the hot corner, as he’s a middle infielder who’s a solid candidate for a tryout. 

The most prominent names that have been thrown around are Alec Bohm and Eugenio Suarez, but neither is a great fit. Bohm wouldn’t give the Mets the power they need, which Suarez would leave them with more questionable defense at third. 

Either way, we’ll know more next week, so stay tuned, as the Mets offseason is about to begin in earnest.