Mets' greatest concern with Bo Bichette is surprisingly not his defense at 3B originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
Coming into the 2026 MLB season, there were a few big questions for the New York Mets. How the new-look lineup and bullpen would fare were the two biggest questions. And so far, things are not going well at all.
They own an 11-game losing streak, and there are a ton of concerns with the team at the moment. One of the biggest concerns revolves around the Mets' new third baseman, Bo Bichette.
But, as Bleacher Report's Tim Kelly points out, the issue is surprisingly not his defense. Instead, his poor offensive numbers are cause for concern, as Bichette is falling well short of expectations for the Mets' offense this season.
"And for what it's worth, Bichette actually hasn't graded out poorly at third base, with zero defensive runs saved and one out above average in the early going," Kelly writes. "What is concerning is that Bichette - twice the American League leader in hits - is batting just .217 with a .538 OPS in his first season with the New York Mets."
Bichette hasn't been a terrible defender for the Mets this season, which is a mild surprise after some of the struggles he showed this spring at the new position.
But he's been a liability offensively. So far this season, across 92 t-bats, he has only had 20 hits for a .217 batting average. He has one home run, eight runs scored, three doubles, nine RBIS, five walks, 23 strikeouts, and a .538 OPS.
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So far this season, Bichette's OPS+, which is a 100 for a league-average hitter, is a brutal 54. The worst season of his career was the 70 OPS+ he had in 2024 in his inexplicably bad season.
Every other year of his career since 2019 has featured an OPS+ of at least 121, which makes the struggles from Bichette this season at the plate so concerning.
If Bichette is closer to his 2024 self with the Mets, then the $52 million they're spending on him this year will be a colossal waste of resources.
Bichette is struggling offensively this season, while being a roughly league-average defender at his new position.
The struggles from Bichette this season are a major cause for concern, and are just one aspect of the disaster that has been the Mets' season so far in 2026.
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