{"id":112316,"date":"2026-01-16T13:19:33","date_gmt":"2026-01-16T18:19:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/?p=112316"},"modified":"2026-01-16T13:19:33","modified_gmt":"2026-01-16T18:19:33","slug":"mets-strike-back-sign-bo-bichette-to-126m-deal","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/2026\/01\/16\/mets-strike-back-sign-bo-bichette-to-126m-deal\/","title":{"rendered":"Mets Strike Back, Sign Bo Bichette to $126M Deal"},"content":{"rendered":"<p data-start=\"1575\" data-end=\"1634\">In a little over 12 hours later, the New York Mets got their guy.<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"1636\" data-end=\"1786\"><a  href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/players\/b\/bichebo01.shtml\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Bo Bichette<\/a>, the highly sought-after infielder, signed a three-year, $126 million deal with the Mets, first reported by Will Sammon of <em data-start=\"1771\" data-end=\"1785\">The Athletic<\/em>.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Breaking: The New York Mets and Bo Bichette are in agreement on a three-year deal, pending physical, league source tells The Athletic.<\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Will Sammon (@WillSammon) <a  href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/WillSammon\/status\/2012208449103216832?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">January 16, 2026<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p data-start=\"1788\" data-end=\"2043\">It\u2019s been a chaotic 12-hour stretch for the Mets fanbase. Some questioned whether they even wanted to watch baseball next season, while others were ready to grab pitchforks and overthrow the front office. Instead, David Stearns delivered a stunning pivot.<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"2045\" data-end=\"2490\">The deal includes two opt-outs within the three years and no deferred money, allowing Bichette to re-enter free agency at ages 28, 29, or 30. He also received a full no-trade clause. Initially, the Phillies were viewed as heavy favorites after a successful in-person meeting on Monday, during which they reportedly offered a seven-year, $200 million contract. The Mets, however, swooped in out of nowhere with a high-AAV deal the former Blue Jay couldn\u2019t refuse.<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"2492\" data-end=\"2714\">Bichette played 139 games last season, batting .311, second-best in baseball, while tallying 181 hits (second-most), 18 home runs, and 94 RBIs. He gives the Mets an elite right-handed bat to balance their lineup further.<\/p>\n<h2 data-start=\"2716\" data-end=\"2746\">What It Means for the Mets<\/h2>\n<p data-start=\"2748\" data-end=\"2803\">The Mets now have a problem: too many infielders.<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"2805\" data-end=\"3132\">It has already been announced that Bichette will play third base, creating a logjam across the infield. <a  href=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/url?sa=t&amp;source=web&amp;rct=j&amp;opi=89978449&amp;url=https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/players\/b\/batybr01.shtml&amp;ved=2ahUKEwiGhI210pCSAxV8GlkFHd4dMqgQFnoECBQQAQ&amp;usg=AOvVaw3nbRDnlxptg-2ODwhUkxAV\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Brett Baty<\/a> is now without a clear role, while <a  href=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/url?sa=t&amp;source=web&amp;rct=j&amp;opi=89978449&amp;url=https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/players\/v\/vientma01.shtml&amp;ved=2ahUKEwizhabC0pCSAxUyFVkFHQtiK-QQFnoECBMQAQ&amp;usg=AOvVaw0Ds-RzQImiVkI5vK59Z8B-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Mark Vientos<\/a>, <a  href=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/url?sa=t&amp;source=web&amp;rct=j&amp;opi=89978449&amp;url=https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/register\/player.fcgi%3Fid%3Dacuna-003jos&amp;ved=2ahUKEwiC6-LI0pCSAxUNK1kFHf5HCOwQFnoECBgQAQ&amp;usg=AOvVaw2rWt2h7vTknDtIP6hKSSmW\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Luisangel Acu\u00f1a<\/a>, and <a  href=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/url?sa=t&amp;source=web&amp;rct=j&amp;opi=89978449&amp;url=https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/register\/player.fcgi%3Fid%3Dmauric000ron&amp;ved=2ahUKEwjb3OfW0pCSAxUSLFkFHYKKDkwQFnoECCEQAQ&amp;usg=AOvVaw2Amv8O0FBkXesy4Y78DJfn\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Ronny Mauricio<\/a> are all effectively positionless. With multiple teams expressing interest in the Mets\u2019 infield depth, a trade feels inevitable.<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"3134\" data-end=\"3496\">One potential partner is the Boston Red Sox. After losing <a  href=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/url?sa=t&amp;source=web&amp;rct=j&amp;opi=89978449&amp;url=https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/players\/b\/bregmal01.shtml&amp;ved=2ahUKEwjFk7zd0pCSAxUAD1kFHe_1A08QFnoECBcQAQ&amp;usg=AOvVaw2_gjtGpGd-qxdI4kyKUvfI\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Alex Bregman<\/a>, Boston has a glaring hole at the corner infield spots. They also recently signed <a  href=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/url?sa=t&amp;source=web&amp;rct=j&amp;opi=89978449&amp;url=https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/players\/s\/suarera01.shtml&amp;ved=2ahUKEwiL9u_j0pCSAxWsKFkFHSuvBewQFnoECBgQAQ&amp;usg=AOvVaw32OEkmbE42wX-7n9NNki8X\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Ranger Su\u00e1rez<\/a> to a five-year, $155 million deal, further strengthening their rotation. Jen McCaffrey of <em data-start=\"3391\" data-end=\"3405\">The Athletic<\/em> <a  href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/athletic\/6971994\/2026\/01\/14\/red-sox-ranger-suarez-signing-impact\/?\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">reported<\/a> that Boston could explore moving arms from that rotation, including <a  href=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/url?sa=t&amp;source=web&amp;rct=j&amp;opi=89978449&amp;url=https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/players\/b\/bellobr01.shtml&amp;ved=2ahUKEwii4oDq0pCSAxUQE1kFHT7yCt8QFnoECBsQAQ&amp;usg=AOvVaw222iDyU3lnN_bBSXqW3xTW\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Brayan Bello<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"3498\" data-end=\"3659\">Additionally, the Red Sox have reportedly listened to outfielders <a  href=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/url?sa=t&amp;source=web&amp;rct=j&amp;opi=89978449&amp;url=https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/players\/d\/duranja01.shtml&amp;ved=2ahUKEwiSuqHx0pCSAxUvFlkFHafZCRAQFnoECBgQAQ&amp;usg=AOvVaw0w733L78B55YxIqoHlYyy6\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Jarren Duran<\/a> and <a  href=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/url?sa=t&amp;source=web&amp;rct=j&amp;opi=89978449&amp;url=https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/players\/a\/abreuwi02.shtml&amp;ved=2ahUKEwjQtq_20pCSAxVCFlkFHbbAMAAQFnoECBAQAQ&amp;usg=AOvVaw2w3ZcYipACraJrv9K-8NSa\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Wilyer Abreu<\/a>, giving the Mets a chance to address multiple needs in one move.<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"3661\" data-end=\"3781\">For now, David Stearns has his Plan B in place. And if this offseason has proven anything, it\u2019s that he\u2019s far from done.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p data-start=\"3661\" data-end=\"3781\">Top Image Credit: <span>John E. Sokolowski-Imagn Images<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>In a little over 12 hours later, the New York Mets got their guy. Bo Bichette, the highly sought-after infielder, signed a three-year, $126 million deal with the Mets, first reported by Will Sammon of The Athletic. Breaking: The New York Mets and Bo Bichette are in agreement on a three-year deal, pending physical, league [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5548,"featured_media":112338,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[22,1071],"tags":[1608,6119,2690,3029,3335,1378,28456],"class_list":["post-112316","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-mets","category-mlb","tag-bo-bichette","tag-brayan-bello","tag-brett-baty","tag-jarren-duran","tag-luisangel-acuna","tag-mark-vientos","tag-wilyer-abreu"],"modified_by":"Matthew Nethercott, Site Editor","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/112316","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5548"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=112316"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/112316\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":112339,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/112316\/revisions\/112339"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/112338"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=112316"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=112316"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=112316"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}