As the August 3 trade deadline looms, New York Mets third baseman Bo Bichette has addressed speculation surrounding his future with the team. Bichette, who possesses no-trade protection in his contract, stated he is not in a hurry to leave but stopped short of committing to blocking any potential trade proposals.
"That hasn’t been brought to my attention right now, so I don’t have an answer," Bichette said prior to the Mets' 6-1 loss to the Philadelphia Phillies on Saturday. Given that Bichette can opt out of his three-year, $126 million contract after the season, his trade value is reportedly impacted by this uncertainty.
Bichette's performance over the past six weeks, which has seen him post an .844 OPS in his last 36 games dating back to June 3, has increased the likelihood of him opting out. However, he indicated that a decision on his contract is not expected until after the season.
"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."
While acknowledging that the team's direction will be a factor in his decision, Bichette pointed to several positives. "There’s a lot of young players they have brought up, a positive outlook for the future," he 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."
This youth movement includes promising players like Nolan McLean, A.J. Ewing, and Carson Benge, as well as pitcher Christian Scott. None of these young players are expected to be involved in trade talks.
Bichette entered Saturday's game with a .253/.297/.372 slash line for the season, a figure that reflects a slow start in early June. He has not dwelled on the earlier struggles, stating, "I can’t do anything about those first two months. I wish I had gotten off to a better start and who knows if the season would have gone differently not just for me, but for the team as a whole. I can’t do anything about it."
Bichette drew a parallel to his experience with the Toronto Blue Jays, a team that finished last in the AL East in 2024 before reaching the World Series the following year. "We had a lot of injuries [in ’24] and I was one of them," Bichette recalled. "I don’t know if I have ever been this far out of [the playoff race] before, but we were definitely not in a good place."