Steve Cohen didn't have a choice with his NY Mets free agency take, he's right anyway

Two of the most important voices of the New York Mets got together and talked about what else, baseball! Steve Cohen and Howie Rose sat across from each other digitally and reviewed the offseason with plenty of useful bites for fans to digest.

Within, Cohen shared a few thoughts about one of the biggest offseason storylines and conversations we’ll have all offseason: Bo Bichette vs. Kyle Tucker. At around the 5-minute mark, Cohen brings up how he believes the star free agent the Mets ended up with can be a better fit for the ball club.

True? Matching the players up side-by-side, there’s a debate. Looking at the overall structure of the roster, it’s hard to find where he’s wrong.

Kyle Tucker can have a better season and Bo Bichette still makes more sense for the Mets

Cohen seemed encouraged by his conversations with Bichette which might’ve ultimately had him feeling good about the way things played out. We’re not privy to this, but Bichette seems to be fitting in nicely at Mets spring training. Because the Mets pursued Tucker until the bitter end over Bichette, you have to believe David Stearns believed the star outfielder was a better or equal short-term match for New York or maybe Cohen at one point preferred him. Bichette’s market did at least get to 7-years and $200 million based on the offer the Philadelphia Phillies had made.

Think about the Mets right now with Tucker instead of Bichette. The switch of Juan Soto from right field to left field would have been absolutely necessary and not some strange pre-spring training transition the ball club never contemplated. Tucker might not be a Gold Glover every year in right field, but he has won one and it’s the position he has been most comfortable with. Carson Benge ends up as a candidate for center field duties rather than a corner outfield spot. It might negate the idea of trading for Luis Robert Jr. although that would have still been a worthy pursuit. Benge can probably handle center field, where he has played the majority of his minor league games. Still, it’s hard to argue against adding Robert at such a low trade cost.

Bichette being forced to transition from shortstop to third base is a question, but not necessarily a bad thing. He can be a backup at shortstop. It’s an unfortunate conversation we’re already having with Francisco Lindor questionable for Opening Day. Tucker would have played in position, but offered no such defensive safety net anywhere. This isn’t so valuable considering Bichette’s reputation as a bad shortstop. We still can’t overlook it. Tucker is a two-position player. Bichette can cover ground at three spots, second base being another emergency button to push and maybe a better option for him overall.

The big question with Tucker over Bichette is what else the Mets would have done in addition to. Bichette came to the Mets before Robert and Freddy Peralta. We can assume Peralta still comes to New York. What else could they have possibly added?

Brett Baty has been displaced from third base because of Bichette. Would the Mets have added someone else there? In a Tucker-to-the-Mets scenario, there’s no corner outfield position for Baty to play regularly. We’d have to assume the Mets trade him or Mark Vientos. Even if they did that, where are they adding the extra bat? Third base options weren’t great. Alex Bregman was never coming to New York and he already signed before Bichette and Tucker.

Along with Bichette, the Mets have Robert, Peralta, a path for Benge, and playing time available for Baty. With Tucker, they get Peralta, a path for Benge with an inferior offensive backup plan, and a mystery box filled with unknown goodies.

One of the prevailing thoughts for the Mets right now is “how do all of these guys get at-bats?” and that’s a good thing to have. It might not be the case with Tucker on the team. Instead, we’d be wondering how black the hole at certain positions is allowed to get.