1. What Is Up With Bo Bichette?
NEW YORK, NEW YORK – JANUARY 21: Bo Bichette #19 of the New York Mets poses for a photo during an introductory press conference after signing a contract with the New York Mets at Citi Field on January 21, 2026 in the Queens borough of New York City. (Photo by Ishika Samant/Getty Images)
The biggest storyline surrounding the Mets early on is the performance of their top free agent signing, Bo Bichette. So far, Bichette has struggled mightily and has looked like a shell of the hitter he has been in the past.
The 28-year-old is off to a 3-for-27 start at the dish with a 33.3% strikeout rate, nearly 20 percentage points higher than what he posted last season. He is getting pitches to hit in the zone, but is either whiffing or fouling them off.
This is certainly not the hitter that the Mets signed up for at $42 million annually, and in all likelihood, it does not reflect his production the rest of the way. Bichette is too talented a hitter to sustain this level of outcome.
Bichette is the key to this Mets’ offense, hitting behind Francisco Lindor and Juan Soto. Those two are consistently getting on base, and Bichette’s role is to dig into the box and knock them home.
If this offense is going to get off the schinde, it starts with Bichette turning things around.
2. Hitting With Runners in Scoring Position Remains an Issue
It hasn’t just been Bo Bichette who has struggled to capitalize with runners on base; it has been the entire New York lineup.
As a team, they are hitting just .162 with runners in scoring position so far, failing to capitalize in key situations. That has been especially costly in its two extra-inning losses, with the Mets failing to get the automatic runner home and leaving the door open for the opposition to take advantage.
They failed to score in both the 10th and 11th innings on Wednesday against the Cardinals despite having the automatic runner on base to start the inning. Ultimately, they lost on a walk-off bloop hit off the bat of Masyn Winn. It goes to show that with today’s extra inning rules, just putting the ball in play can make all the difference and determine a win or a loss.