We all knew this was going to happen, right?
For months now, the New York Mets have been acting like a disciplined, financially-prudent team as they tried to recover from their spectacular second-half meltdown last year, but every now and then the Amazins’ seem to remind you that they’re still the same old Mets.
Thesigning of infielder Bo Bichette is the latest evidence of that. The Mets struck out after trying to land free-agent outfielder Kyle Tucker, but rather than backing off and considering other options, they went out and signed an overrated free-agent infielder, Bo Bichette, to play a position where they had no real need.
It’s truly hard to understand why the Mets did this. Yes, they needed a bat, and the Mets also needed to add some protection for outfielder Juan Soto. Tucker would have given them that, although there were reports that his declining defense would have compromised the stated goal of GM David Stearns to focus on run prevention. The smart thing would have been to move on to another outfielder, most likely via trade.
Defensively, this deal doesn’t make a lot of sense, either. Bichette was one of the worst-rated defenders in baseball as a shortstop, which is the reason why the Toronto Blue Jays moved him over to second base.
Now he’s moving over to third for the Mets. Will Bichette be adequate at third? Probably, but there the Mets are playing a guessing game when they already had a third baseman, Brett Baty, who’s at least competent and perhaps capable of being a lot more than that. And as good as Bichette is offensively, he and Baty did have exactly the same number of home runs with 18.
This move is also borderline nonsensical when it comes to roster construction. The Mets needed an outfielder who can play good defense, and now they have a glut of third baseman. This signing diminishes the value of both Baty and Mark Vientos, should they decided to trade either or both, although there are rumors that the Mets are going to try Baty full-time in the outfield.
The one good thing about the Bichette deal is that it’s a short-term contract. The AAV of $42 million is too high, but not by a massive amount, and if Bichette does fail to adjust to the pressure of the New York market it will be easy enough for the Mets to write off this deal. Stearns tried to hold off Cohen’s need to be front and center while spending on stars, but now here we are again with the Mets owner making a massive, expensive move that is just baffling on multiple levels.