Sal Licata is not treating Bo Bichette’s first season in Queens as a verdict. The WFAN host and SNY contributor expects the Mets third baseman to grow into the deal as two earlier stars did.
Bichette, 28, is staying long enough to find out. He exercised his $42 million player option for 2027 on Thursday, a day after Milwaukee closed out the World Series, first reported by The Athletic’s Will Sammon and confirmed by the New York Post.
Speaking about Bichette’s outlook, Licata said:
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“I think this is going to go the Mike Piazza, Francisco Lindor way. Those guys all struggled when they first came to New York. Piazza, when he first got traded, took him a little while to get going.
“Obviously, Lindor, rough first season. I think that’s what we’re going to have with Bo Bichette for the Mets.”
Piazza‘s bat actually arrived quickly after the May 1998 trade: .348 with 23 home runs and 76 RBIs in 109 games, though the comfort took longer. Lindor hit .230 with a .734 OPS in 125 games in 2021, then .270 with 26 homers and 107 RBIs in 2022.
“I feel positive about this team going forward” – Bo Bichette opens up about tough first season with the New York Mets
Bichette’s own debut season was hard by any measure. He hit .260/.312/.390 with 18 home runs, 78 RBIs and a .702 OPS in 160 games, well under the .806 OPS he carried into the year. Citi Field booed him through a 1-for-14 start at home, and his OPS sat below .600 as late as June 10.
He was blunt about that start when he spoke with The Post at the end of the season.
“The first three months were some of the longest of my career, for sure, a combination of so many different things. Simply put, my performance and the team’s performance in a new situation,” Bichette told The Post’s Mike Puma at the end of the season.
“I think I can look at the season and in some ways see it in a positive light and I think the team can as well. It was a weird year because I feel positive about this team going forward, and obviously have confidence in myself, so it’s a weird feeling to have that positivity about the team, about myself.”
The recovery was real: .285/.337/.442 the rest of the way, 160 games played and a workable transition to third base, a position he had never played in the majors. The Mets still finished 74-88 and last in the NL East.
The opt-in gives them continuity on the left side of the infield, and a second player option after 2027 gives Bo Bichette another swing at the market.
Edited by Raghav Mehta
