Bo Bichette agrees with Mets on deal for three years and $126 million, source says
Bo Bichette of the Toronto Blue Jays hits an RBI single during the seventh inning against the Los Angeles Dodgers in Game 5 of the World Series at Dodger Stadium on October 29, 2025. Credit: Getty Images/Luke Hales
After losing the Kyle Tucker sweepstakes on Thursday night, the Mets pivoted to arguably the best free-agent bat remaining on the market.
They reached agreement with shortstop Bo Bichette on a three-year, $126 million contract pending a physical, a source confirmed to Newsday on Friday afternoon. The deal includes two opt-outs, according to multiple reports.
With Francisco Lindor entrenched at shortstop, Bichette, 27, will play third base for the Mets, Newsday confirmed. The two-time All-Star has no MLB experience at the position, logging 716 career regular-season games at shortstop and five postseason games at second base. Bichette has no minor-league experience at third base, either.
The move comes less than 24 hours after the Dodgers reportedly agreed with Tucker on a four-year, $240 million deal. The Mets made a four-year, $220 million offer to Tucker, according to multiple reports, and after losing him, president of baseball operations David Stearns quickly shifted gears.
Stearns, who met with reporters for lunch at Citi Field on Tuesday, recognized then that “there have been points in this offseason that have been frustrating for our fan base.”
“It hasn’t been hard for me to stay patient and stick to my principles,” he said. “I grew up a Mets fan. I love the Mets. I am committed to doing this job in a way that truly sets us up for success for a sustained period of time. That’s why I want to be here. So I think that end goal and that end desire and that motivation makes it much easier for me not to be swayed by some near-term sentiment.
“As difficult as near-term sentiment can be and certainly in this town, as loud as it can be, I understand ultimately what our task is, what our mission is. I believe we’re on our way to achieving it.”
The $42 million average annual value for Bichette, the son of four-time All-Star Dante Bichette, is tied for the fourth-highest with Phillies ace Zack Wheeler in MLB (excluding deferrals). USA Today reported that the Phillies believed they were going to sign Bichette to a seven-year, $200 million deal until the Mets “swooped in.”
Free-agent outfielder Cody Bellinger, who spent last season with the Yankees and has been linked to the Mets this offseason, is the clear top position player remaining on the market.
Bichette is coming off a 2025 season in which he had a .311/.357/.483 slash line in 139 games for the Blue Jays. He returned from a late-season knee sprain in the World Series, posting a .348/.444/.478 slash line in the seven-game series. Bichette hit a three-run homer off Shohei Ohtani to open the scoring in Game 7, which the Dodgers won, 5-4, in an 11-inning instant classic.
After that game, Bichette was asked about his free agency and whether the painful World Series loss made him want to stay in Toronto more.
“I’ve said I want to be here from the beginning,” he told reporters.
Instead, he will make Citi Field his new home.
Bichette is a career .294/.337/.469 hitter with 111 homers and 437 RBIs in 748 games. He had an impressive bounce-back season last year after posting career-worst marks in batting average (.225) and OPS (.598) in 81 games in 2024, when he missed time with a calf strain and a fractured finger.
Bichette had underwhelming defensive analytics at shortstop in 2025. According to Baseball Savant, he ranked in the first percentile in MLB with negative-13 outs above average and the 36th percentile in arm strength (82.3 mph).
The Mets’ infield now takes on an iffy alignment. Jorge Polanco, who has only one pitch of MLB experience at first base, is set to take over the position previously held by Pete Alonso. Marcus Semien, acquired from Texas for Brandon Nimmo, will play second base, a position that in 2025 was held by Jeff McNeil — who was traded to the Athletics last month — for 69 starts, Brett Baty for 46 and Luisangel Acuna for 41. Baty likely was slotted as the Mets’ starting third baseman before they added Bichette.
At his end-of-season news conference last September, Stearns said the Mets will be “open-minded about our position player grouping so that we can improve our run prevention.” Their effectiveness in run prevention has yet to be determined, but Stearns’ construction of their new-look infield certainly qualifies as open-minded.
Newsday’s Laura Albanese contributed to this story.
Ben Dickson is Newsday Sports' general assignment reporter. He joined Newsday’s high school sports staff in 2023 after graduating from Maryland, where he covered several of the Terrapins' teams.
