Bo Bichette’s Blue Jays Setback Is Driving Mets Issues, Executive Says

The New York Mets are perhaps baseball’s most disappointing team to open the season, after an offseason of star acquisitions has resulted in the National League’s worst record going into Friday.

And while there is plenty of blame to go around, one of the biggest issues has been the team’s offensive ineptitude. Fans might have expected better from new third baseman Bo Bichette, in particular, after he served as Major League Baseball’s hits leaders with the Toronto Blue Jays last year before going down with a knee injury.

Toronto Blue Jays Injury Appears To Be Impact New York Mets’ Bo Bichette’s Baserunning

Bichette is slashing just .228/.271/.304 with a single home run in his Mets tenure, and experts are flagging some advanced analytics to suggest he still hasn’t fully recovered from that Blue Jays injury.

“According to Baseball Savant, Bichette’s sprint speed is down to 25.4 ft/sec this season, which is quite slow,” Pat Ragazzo noted for New York Mets On SI. “Bichette’s sprint speed was 26.1 ft/sec last year in the regular season before he injured his knee in September. Upon returning for the World Series in October, Bichette’s sprint speed was 24.0 ft/sec and he averaged 23.2 ft/sec on base-to-base sprints.”

Ragazzo reported that a National League scout told him Bichette did not appear to be healthy in his start to this season.

New York Mets’ Bo Bichette Slower, Struggling At Plate Following Toronto Blue Jays Injury

And MLB.com’s Mark Feisand reported that at least one National League executive agrees, adding that Bichette’s bat speed seems to have suffered as well.

“(Bichette’s) sprint speed is down,” the executive said, according to Feinsand. “And even accounting for his injury, it still seems off. He’s never been a bat-speed guy, but he’s even down a tick from last year there. He’s not barreling balls at all, and his swing decisions have been even poorer than usual.”

Facing multiple issues at the plate, Bichette has not quite lived up to his three-year, $126 million contract. But fans might take some solace in the fact that Bichette’s problems can be explained by the lingering injury, which should heal in time and allow the infielder to get back to his best self at the plate.

“A 7-12 start is by no means a death sentence when it comes to reaching the postseason,” Feinsand added. “Just last year, the (Cincinnati) Reds reached October with just 83 wins, while in 2023 the D-backs reached the World Series in a year in which they won 84 games.”

Bichette might be carrying some unwanted baggage from his final season with the Blue Jays into his debut with the Mets, but there’s still plenty of time for him and his new team to turn things around.

This article was originally published on Forbes.com

Bo Bichette’s Blue Jays Setback Is Driving Mets Issues, Executive Says

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