The New York Mets made a bold move to sign Bo Bichette after the team failed to land Kyle Tucker.
New York signed Bichette to a three-year, $126 million deal with the Mets, but there is a potential out after this season, so it could be a one-year, $42 million deal. Bichette was expected to be a key part of the Mets’ offense, but to begin the year, he’s off to a slow start.
Now, some anonymous MLB scouts told Pat Ragazzo of SI that they believe Bichette is still nursing the PCL sprain in his left knee from late last season.
“He didn’t go first-to-third the other day,” one NL scout said. “Couldn’t beat out a ball that got away from (Jeff) McNeil either.”
Scouts believe Bichette’s knee still isn’t fully healthy, which is hindering him at the plate and on the basepaths. When he will be 100 percent healthy is uncertain, but scouts don’t think Bichette is fully healthy, which is a concern for the Mets.
According to Baseball Savant, Bichette’s sprint speed is down to 25.4 ft/sec this season, which is down from last season before the injury.
However, if Bichette’s bat can heat up, his speed won’t be an issue for Mets fans, but for now, it appears the contract is a hefty one.
Mets Fans Booed Bichette
New York’s big splash of the offseason was signing Bichette, and to begin the season, he struggled at the plate.
Bichette started 1-for-14 at the plate, and Mets fans were booing him, which he admitted was well deserved.
“If anything, I thought it took too long. But I get it,” Bichette said. “I thought my at-bats were terrible, too.”
Bichette was disappointed with his start but was confident he would turn it around, and understood being booed.
“I didn’t anticipate it, but I definitely felt that wanting to have a moment not only for my teammates, but for the fans,” Bichette said. “That’s just something I have to manage. … I guess I didn’t anticipate it affecting the way I play. …
“We can talk about it being early, but I need to figure some things out. I’ve done it before. Just different circumstances.”
Bichette has picked it up as he’s now hitting .235 with 1 home run and 9 RBIs.
New York Struggling Offensively
The Mets are coming off being swept by the Athletics, and the team will now go on the road to play the Los Angeles Dodgers.
New York manager Carlos Mendoza admits he’s disappointed in the offense, but is confident the team can turn it around.
“Tough homestand overall, offensively,” Mendoza said. “You come back from that (recent) road trip feeling good about the way you are swinging the bats. You win the first game (against the D-backs) and then you have a hard time scoring from there.
“Yesterday I thought the bats were better, but not enough to win the baseball game. At times we’re chasing, being passive in between. There would be a few innings where we didn’t have competitive at-bats. Today there were a few guys that hit balls hard, but right at people. We are not creating enough traffic to put together a rally. We have to keep going. … It’s just a bad stretch. You have to continue to trust the players there. They are really good. We will continue to work with them.”
The Mets are off to a 7-9 start and last place in the NL East.
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