Bo Bichette is staying at Citi Field for at least one more season, and the state of the third base market he chose not to test explains why the New York Mets greeted the decision as a win. Bichette exercised his $42 million player option for 2027 on Thursday and confirmed it with the team on Friday.
The opt-in was expected. Bo Bichette hit .260 with a .702 OPS, 18 home runs and 78 RBIs in 160 games for a club that finished last in the NL East. Declining the option meant a $5 million buyout instead of a guaranteed $42 million, with a labor stoppage possible when the collective bargaining agreement expires Dec. 1.
MLB analyst Rich MacLeod, a Just Mets co-creator and host of The Just Mets Podcast, used his reaction to the news to sketch what the Mets would have been shopping for if Bichette had walked. The list was short and unappealing.
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MacLeod started with Eugenio Suárez, who holds a $16 million mutual option with the Cincinnati Reds, is 35 and is coming off a down year. He expected the Houston Astros to pick up Isaac Paredes’ $13.4 million club option.
Beyond them came Alec Bohm, Edmundo Sosa, Yoán Moncada, Santiago Espinal and Jeimer Candelario, a group MacLeod made clear was not an acceptable fallback. Opting out, he said, would have made the Mets’ offseason considerably harder.
“Bo Bichette, if he had opted out, not only would have been the best third baseman on the market, he would have by far been the best third baseman on the market,” Rich MacLeod said.
“The market is so thin right now,” MacLeod said of the group behind Bichette. Apart from MLB analyst Rich MacLeod, Dexter Henry and Tyler Ward also viewed Bo Bichette‘s opting in as a positive sign for the team.
MLB Analysts Explain Why Bo Bichette’s Return Could Be Crucial for Mets in 2027
The Straight Outta Flushing podcast approached the same decision from the roster side. Dexter Henry and Tyler Ward treated the opt-in as one fewer item on David Stearns’ list, freeing the New York Mets president of baseball operations to work on first base, second base, the outfield and a pitching staff that needs attention.
“I think all in all, this is one less thing for David Stearns to have to worry about. And when we look at approaching first base, second base, outfield to a certain degree, the rotation, the bullpen, this just sets the Mets up, I think, to have a faster, more effective offseason,” Tyler Ward said.
The right side of the infield is where that work starts. Marcus Semien is signed at second base, but the club has not committed to him as the everyday answer. On the other hand, there’s Brett Baty and a group of prospects in the mix, while Jared Young and Mark Vientos are the internal first base options at a position that produced little in 2026 after the club moved on from Pete Alonso.
The rotation and bullpen remain the primary needs, which is where the largest offers are likely to go. However, with Bo Bichette locked in, the Mets can focus on further additions to fill up the holes before the 2027 season.
“But I think for what the Mets need in Bo entering next season, they’re in good hands. I think that he adds a level of certainty to their lineup as well as that level of, again, stability and continuity to this club that they desperately need,” Tyler Ward said.
The case for a bounceback rests on the shape of Bo Bichette’s season. He was hitting .210 with a .531 OPS on May 17, then batted .281 with a .772 OPS and 16 home runs over his final 114 games, closer to the career .288 average and .788 OPS he brought from Toronto. He gets 2027 to show which version is real, with the same opt-out waiting at the end of it.
Edited by Kaushani Chatterjee
