With the Aug. 3 trade deadline closing in, the Mets are staring at a familiar kind of uncertainty: what comes next for Bo Bichette?
The third baseman is in the middle of a three-year, $126 million deal, but that contract gives him the ability to opt out and hit free agency again after this season. New York, sitting at 42-58 and 10 games out of a postseason spot, is expected to move several pending free agents as it sorts through a rough year.
Bichette, though, isn’t tipping his hand. He was asked whether he plans to opt out or whether he would waive his no-trade clause before the deadline, and he made clear that nothing has been discussed with him yet.
“That hasn’t been brought to my attention right now, so I don’t have an answer,” Bichette told the New York Post’s Mike Puma before Sunday’s 6-1 win over the Phillies.
That leaves the Mets in a tricky spot, especially with Bichette’s bat heating up at the right time. After a rough beginning to his time in New York, the two-time All-Star has hit .303 with an .802 OPS since the start of June. That surge has lifted his season line to .253/.300/.370 and, with it, both the chance he could opt out after the season and his value on the trade market.
There are 14 days left until the deadline, and Bichette said he still hasn’t made a decision either way.
“I signed here because I believed in the talent here and it’s exciting to play for an organization that was trying to win,” Bichette said. “The reason I signed the contract was to have freedom for my own career, so I guess it would be too early to tell.”
Even with his own future unsettled, Bichette had praise for the direction of the organization, pointing to the young talent the Mets have brought through during a losing season. He mentioned AJ Ewing, Carson Benge, Nolan McLean and Christian Scott as part of that group.
“There’s a lot of young players they have brought up, a positive outlook for the future,” Bichette said. “And then on top, the organization is still trying to win.
It’s not an organization that is OK being mediocre. It’s an organization that wants to win and wants to win the World Series, and that is the goal.
You couple that with a lot of good young players who have a really bright future. That’s a positive thing.”
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