NEW YORK, NEW YORK - MARCH 29: Bo Bichette #19 of the New York Mets look on during the game against the Pittsburgh Pirates at Citi Field on March 29, 2026 in the Queens borough of New York City. (Photo by Ishika Samant/Getty Images)
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The New York Mets have spent much of the 2026 season trying to justify one of the winter’s biggest free-agent investments, and this week’s series against the Philadelphia Phillies offered another reminder of how differently the offseason could have unfolded.
Bo Bichette ultimately chose the Mets over Philadelphia after leaving the Toronto Blue Jays in free agency, but some comments he made ahead of the series opener on Thursday suggested that a link to his former team nearly convinced him to choose the Phillies.
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Once he arrived at Citizens Bank Park for the first series between the rivals of the season, he was almost immediately asked about a high-profile offseason saga between himself, the Phillies and the Mets.
“(Bichette) picked the three-year/$126 million deal with opt outs after each season from the Mets over a reported seven-year/$200 million offer with the Phillies,” Tim Kelly recalled for On Pattison. “In the end, the Mets were spurned by Kyle Tucker, who chose to take a four-year/$240 million deal that included a player opt out after the 2027 season with the Los Angeles Dodgers. So Mets owner Steve Cohen pivoted, offering Bichette a deal he couldn’t refuse.”
When asked how close he came to choosing the Phillies over the Mets, he acknowledged that those negotiations had taken place, though he was clear that he never believed a deal with the Phillies was at the finish line.
"I thought it was an opportunity, for sure,” Bichette said on Thursday, according to The Philadelphia Inquirer’s Scott Lauber. “But there was definitely things that needed to be worked out for that to become a possibility. So, no, I didn't think that (it was agreed to)."
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“We had a lot of good talks,” Bichette said of the Phillies. “That’s a great team over there. Obviously, Donnie being over there was enticing to me. But yeah, great talks, great organization.”
Bichette was referring to Don Mattingly, who helped the Blue Jays reach the World Series last year as a key member of the coaching staff, then joined the Phillies for this season and took over as manager when Rob Thomson was fired.
So far, the team is surging under Mattingly and, had he convinced a star infielder like Bichette to join the team, he’d likely be even more popular with fans than he already is.
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