The New York Mets just took two of three from the Atlanta Braves, but at 32-39, nobody in Queens is celebrating. This season was supposed to be different. Instead, it’s been a grind — and no player personifies that struggle more than Bo Bichette.
The shortstop arrived from Toronto last offseason with a reputation as a consistent All-Star bat. The Mets paid a premium to get him. But through mid-June, Bichette has looked like a shadow of the player who helped lead the Blue Jays to the AL pennant. His numbers are down, his confidence has wavered, and now a report from Bob Nightengale of USA Today suggests he could decline his player option this winter and test free agency again.
Former MLB general manager Steve Phillips is having none of it.
“I really can’t imagine why any executive would think that the season he’s having would be worthy of opting out,” Phillips said on MLB Network Radio. “He’s going to walk away from so much money that he’s not going to find in free agency from anybody else. Nobody’s going to give him $40 million a year. Nobody is going to give him $30 million a year. In fact, I don’t think anybody’s going to give him $20 million a year.”
Reality Check for Bichette
Phillips is echoing what many around the league are quietly saying: the market has shifted. A year ago, Bichette was a marquee free agent. Now? His offensive numbers — while showing faint signs of life recently — aren’t anywhere close to the level that would command elite-level money. According to reports, the Mets signed him to a deal that averaged well north of $30 million annually. Opting out would mean betting on himself to earn that again. But right now, that bet looks like a losing one.
The team has not confirmed any of the opt-out chatter. But the logic is hard to follow internally. If Bichette leaves, he walks away from guaranteed dollars in a market that may not even sniff $20 million a year. For the Mets, that could actually be a relief — they’d clear cap space for a retool. But for Bichette, it would be a massive gamble.
Fans online noted that the shortstop has looked better at the plate in recent weeks, but the sample is still small. A hot June doesn’t erase a cold April and May. And front offices around baseball are notoriously quick to discount short bursts of production when the overall body of work is subpar.
What Happens Next
The Mets head to Cincinnati on Monday for a three-game set against the Reds. Bichette will be in the lineup, still trying to prove he’s worth the money his deal promises. But the bigger question looms: Can he turn this season around enough to make his opt-out decision anything other than a no-brainer?
Right now, it looks like the answer is no. And if Phillips is right, Bichette’s best move is to stay put, bet on himself in 2026, and try to earn the next payday the old-fashioned way — by producing when it counts.
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