NEW YORK — Instead of the usual preamble, a hype video introduced Bo Bichette and after some compliments from president of baseball operations David Stearns, the longtime Toronto Blue Jays star pulled on the blue pinstripes and orange trim of the New York Mets, No. 19 on the back, and smiled wide.
A Big Apple dose of Hollywood flash for the now third baseman, who in an eventful decade went from a baby-faced, long-haired phenom taken in the second round of the 2016 draft to a recently married, soon-to-be 28-year-old, two-time all-star guaranteed $146 million over three years with two opt outs, providing him an empowering degree of career control.
The new beginning marked, simultaneously, a definitive end on his time with the American League champions, where he developed, alongside Vladimir Guerrero Jr., from saviour prospect to franchise cornerstone, carrying the club to the cusp of its third title. His deal with the Mets, reached last week and finalized Tuesday night, triggered all sorts of feels for a fanbase that rode the wild waves along with him.
Perhaps there is an alternate universe where he’s realizing what he described in September 2024 as his “my ultimate goal … to play with Vladdy (Guerrero Jr.) forever, to win a championship with him and to do that with this organization.” Not in this one, though, not after the free agency process made it “very obvious that I wanted to be a Met,” not after a split that had long loomed as a distant possibility until it suddenly became reality.
“Vladdy is a brother for life, a friend for life, always love him and value our friendship,” Bichette told Sportsnet on Wednesday in the media room at Citi Field. “Me and the Blue Jays were in touch all off-season. They showed interest. But at the end of the day, it just became clear for me that this was the decision that I needed to make.”
That his decision came the day after Kyle Tucker opted for a short-term deal with the Los Angeles Dodgers conceptually similar to the one Bichette took from the Mets made for a disappointing twist to what’s been a strong winter for the Blue Jays.
Whether they could have done something more will be open to conjecture and these decisions are always layered and complicated.
Greg Genske, Bichette’s agent at Vayner Sports, noted that they met with both Stearns and the Mets and Ross Atkins and the Blue Jays during the GM Meetings in November and that they maintained “ a very healthy, ongoing dialogue” with the Toronto camp. When decision time came, Bichette had both short- and long-term deals “on the table from multiple teams” to choose from.
“But throughout the process, the Mets really emerged as a team that combined everything Bo was looking for — a team that was really committed to winning, the opportunity to come play in New York — and it really just came together from there,” Genske continued. “His decision was really more of a statement about the Mets and their organization, Mr. (Steve) Cohen and David Stearns and how they handled things, than it was about the other several teams that were involved in Bo’s market.”
Such is the risk of not locking up a star-calibre talent early in his career, when teams can buy out free-agent-years upside by committing long-term before a player has fully realized his potential. The Blue Jays narrowly managed to keep from Guerrero reaching the open market by agreeing to a $500-million, 14-year extension last April after a difficult and protracted negotiation, only to watch Bichette slip away afterwards.
Only adding to the emotional whirlpool is that his signature moment — the three-run homer on a badly sprained right knee off Shohei Ohtani in World Series Game 7, described by his father Dante as “probably the most thrilling moment of my life” — turned out to be his goodbye, too.
“I’ll only have fond memories of my time with the Blue Jays. I’ll only have fond memories with the fans,” said Bichette. “They supported me so much through so much. And I’ll also remember my first at-bat in the World Series, where they had my back and they believed in me after not playing for that long and were supporting me through that. I was open to (returning) and we had conversations throughout the off-season, but it just didn’t pan out.”
The result is rather than trying to help the Blue Jays back to the World Series for another shot at the Dodgers, or another club, he’ll instead be helping the Mets try to take down the two-time champions, a uniquely intertwined crossroads of baseball’s big spenders.
In the background now for 2026, for better or worse, will be what the Blue Jays might look like with either Bichette or Tucker alongside reinforcements Dylan Cease, Cody Ponce, Tyler Rogers and Kazuma Okamoto.
Defensively, that means Andres Gimenez will slide over to shortstop — something the club confirmed with him a couple of weeks ago — with the ability to mix and match at second and third between Ernie Clement, Okamoto, Addison Barger and Davis Schneider.
Offensively, that means Anthony Santander needs to bounce back from a miserable, injury-ridden season, George Springer and Alejandro Kirk, among others, can’t regress, Okamoto needs to transition smoothly and a full aircraft-carrier mode season from Guerrero may be more necessary.
With Cody Bellinger reaching agreement with the New York Yankees — word leaking out during Bichette’s newser befitting the Gotham rivalry — the top end of the free-agent hitters’ market is largely bought out, although the Blue Jays are more in opportunistic mode now anyway.
The trade market may offer some opportunities, but they feel confident in the group they have and likely won’t force the issue.
The season’s test looms.
Bichette, meanwhile, is looking for a place in New York with wife Alexis, meeting his new teammates and preparing for a season full of new, from position to teammates to club to pressures.
“A great organization that’s trying to win, great players around,” is how he put it. “My goal is to win and this organization checks it all.”
Added Dante on the changes coming his son: “I couldn’t be more proud of the kid. Not a lot of people play long enough to get to free agency and then are able to set themselves up. For me, it’s different, it’s a tough one. I always saw him as probably playing in New York at some point. It is the big spot to play, so I’m excited to see him get that chance.”
