3 Bo Bichette questions for the NY Mets and an answer for each

It's pretty clear that the New York Mets' signing of Bo Bichette has failed to live up to expectations. His numbers have been close to replacement all year and he has hit to an 88 OPS+ while accumulating a total of -3 Defensive Runs Saved, making it easy to forget that he's being paid $42 million this year. For context, only four players cost more on the payroll: Kyle Tucker, Juan Soto, Shohei Ohtani, and Cody Bellinger.

This has left the team with more questions than answers and with the team gearing up to be sellers at the trade deadline for the first time in a while, Bichette's future has never been less clear. Nonetheless, there are a few questions we can try and answer.

Does he have trade deadline value?

From a purely statistical perspective, it's difficult to make a compelling argument that Bichette would add value to a different squad. He has struggled on both sides of the ball all year and hasn't even been on the cusp of being on a hot streak. Historically, he has been an outstanding hitter, especially given the added defensive responsibility of being a shortstop, but things just haven't clicked this year.

From a contract perspective, one might point out that his $42 million salary by itself should make him hard to move but it's important to acknowledge the idiosyncrasies of his deal. Although he is a $42 million hit to the luxury tax payroll, $40 million was paid in the form of a signing bonus with just $2 million serving as base salary. So, teams won't be on the hook for very much money for the remainder of the season.

However, he also has two $42 million player options and $5 million buyouts for each option, presenting significant risk to any club's finances should he choose to exercise these. Finally, he has a full no-trade clause which should prevent any deal from being struck. He could choose to waive this part of his contract but recent reports suggest that he doesn't plan on doing that.

So, given the lack of signs of life in his offensive profile and astronomical potential costs, it doesn't seem like Bichette will be one of the highly sought-after pieces for this year's postseason contenders.

Will Bo Bichette opt in or out?

Bichette hasn't shown his hand when it comes to opting in or out but it's difficult to see the free market being friendly to him given his lackluster results this year. A $42 million salary would still make him one of the highest-paid players in baseball and he could use 2027 as a year to bounce back and revive his stock as a player.

The impending lockout next year adds another layer of complexity and would make teams hesitant to sign big deals if the league will be missing out on games. For Bichette, opting in gives him certainty and time to ride out this rough patch and hit free agency when it's more advantageous to him.

A month ago, Bob Nightengale did report that teams expected him to opt out at the end of the season although the reason why wasn't made clear. More recent reports say that he hasn't decided but perhaps industry insiders have a better idea of what's going on behind the scenes.

If Bo Bichette opts out, do we want him back?

With the Mets headed for a rebuild and turning their attention to the future, it's tough to imagine why the team would want to retain a player that costs so much yet offers so little. It seems that the organization is already looking for ways to invest in younger players and according to some, no players are off limits.

Even without Bichette, the team could use Brett Baty who has been roughly as valuable as Bichette until someone younger is ready to fully take over the hot corner. For the Mets, Jacob Reimer could be that guy. He's working on his defensive abilities as the organization decides which corner of the infield he'll be responsible for but given the success of the team's rookies in Carson Benge and A.J. Ewing, maybe it's time to turn the team over to younger blood.

In reality, it's not really up to the team because Bichette's contract essentially protects him from being moved without his express consent but just because he's there, doesn't mean the Mets have to be thrilled about it.

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