NY Mets Monday Morning GM: The most annoying Bo Bichette outcome

What’s the worst that can happen with Bo Bichette? Signed for three years but a player option after year one and two, there’s no certainty he’ll be back with the New York Mets in 2027. A slow start, an unknown outcome from the CBA, and one of the highest salaries in the sport seem to have most believing Bichette will, indeed, opt into year-two of his deal. It’s hard to imagine anyone else would be so eager to give him $42 million after the year he had with the Mets in 2026.

Bichette has been far better in the last few months than he was in the first two. Clutch moments like he did on Sunday reminded us why the Mets felt he was an appropriate pivot when Kyle Tucker chose the Los Angeles Dodgers. The San Francisco Giants chose to issue Juan Soto an intentional walk then challenged Bichette to beat them. He did and the Mets snagged win number 65 on the season.

Rather than go into full tank mode, many Mets players are trying their best and the club has performed well in the last few weeks. Bichette is written in pencil as the starting third baseman next year. After this weekend and even the last few months, the most annoying outcome has become apparent.

The worst thing to happen with Bo Bichette: he opts out after a hot finish while costing the Mets draft in the draft

When the Mets signed Bichette, they lost two draft picks. Because he turned down the qualifying offer from the Toronto Blue Jays, he was one of the free agents who came at the price of draft pick compensation. The Mets, in the worst bracket because of how much they spent on players, lost their second and fifth highest draft picks. They did regain one when Edwin Diaz joined the Dodgers, Bichette essentially only snubbing them from a second rounder.

It’s always a question teams need to ask when it comes to players who reject the QO. Are they worth the draft pick losses?

What’s done is done and with wins like the one the Mets pulled off against the Giants, they’re inching closer toward the other draft pick punishment.

If the Mets fall out of the top 6 worst teams, they’ll drop 10 spots in the 2027 MLB Draft. It’s another one of those punishments for exceeding the luxury tax threshold. They’ve been routinely dropping every year. It’s why they didn’t pick until 27th this past July. They should have been picking 17th overall based on their 2025 record.

No one is going to tell Bichette to help the Mets lose games. Whether he actually intends to stay or not, his job is to play his best and help the Mets win. This doesn’t help the annoyance level of Bichette putting together a hot September and head into the offseason on a high when he has the kind of numbers that might convince a team to maybe not pay him $42 million a year but offer him something closer to a long-term deal he was seeking last offseason.

The Mets currently have the fifth spot in next year’s MLB Draft, lottery results notwithstanding. The Detroit Tigers have an identical 65-78 record. The Seattle Mariners are sinking quickly and could soon fall behind the Mets.

As Tankathon points out, the San Francisco Giants cannot receive higher than a top 10 pick so that’s one team the Mets don’t have to worry about. However, teams like the Washington Nationals and even the Minnesota Twins could cause draft pick problems for New York.

There was a point when the idea of Bichette returning to the Mets in 2027 was lukewarm at best. A .794 OPS in the second-half to go with a .284 batting average more closely matches what we expected from him. Most importantly, he hasn’t rolled over or turned his back on the city or fans. He has said everything right from opening weekend when he was booed onward. He kind of fits way too perfectly for what the Mets need. And because of that, leaving and costing the Mets in the draft is the most headache-inducing ending.

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