{"id":569780,"date":"2026-02-13T08:10:25","date_gmt":"2026-02-13T08:10:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/569780\/"},"modified":"2026-02-13T08:10:25","modified_gmt":"2026-02-13T08:10:25","slug":"mets-bo-bichette-getting-used-to-transformation-at-third-base","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/569780\/","title":{"rendered":"Mets’ Bo Bichette ‘getting used to’ transformation at third base"},"content":{"rendered":"

PORT ST. LUCIE \u2014 Bo Bichette spent his first day of spring workouts listening intently Thursday as his manager offered tips about fielding his new position.<\/p>\n

At third base on the main field, Bichette absorbed Carlos Mendoza\u2019s words. <\/p>\n

Later, Bichette faced Freddy Peralta in a live batting practice session, putting the Mets\u2019 two biggest offseason acquisitions on display.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m meeting a lot of new people and trying to figure out a new routine,\u201d Bichette said. \u201cBut it\u2019s honestly really exciting. It almost feels like my first season again.\u201d<\/p>\n

Bichette, in his transformation from shortstop to third base<\/a> after arriving to the Mets on a three-year contract worth $126 million<\/a>, worked out in front of Mendoza earlier this month. <\/p>\n

\"BoBo Bichette fields a grounder during the Mets\u2019 Feb. 12, 2026 session at spring training in Port St. Lucie. Corey Sipkin for the NY Post<\/p>\n

But now camp is for real, and Bichette was sure to arrive ahead of next week\u2019s reporting date for position players to get acclimated.<\/p>\n

Mendoza\u2019s messages to Bichette on this day focused on timing.<\/p>\n

\u201cPart of the transition, even when he\u2019s just taking regular ground balls, is realizing how much time he has [to throw] compared to the shortstop position,\u201d Mendoza said. \u201cThe ball is going to get to you a lot quicker \u2014 you have got more time. Those are some of the things, besides angles, it\u2019s just a feel for the game clock.\u201d<\/p>\n

On the flip side, Bichette is learning he doesn\u2019t have the luxury of as much time when starting a double play.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou have to be quicker getting rid of the baseball,\u201d Mendoza said. \u201cYou have got to give the second baseman a chance. Those are some of the conversations we are having out of the gate, and I am glad he\u2019s here early so we can get that out of the way.\u201d<\/p>\n

What are Bichette\u2019s early takeaways about the position?<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s more forward-to-back than side-to-side,\u201d Bichette said. \u201cShortstop you definitely have to come in, but having more time at third base is something that I am getting used to \u2014 understanding that I can take a little more time.\u201d<\/p>\n

But Bichette isn\u2019t ready to quantify his comfort level at third base.<\/p>\n

\u201cI am not sure I can put a number on that,\u201d he said. \u201cI haven\u2019t played any games, so that is going to be my biggest hurdle, but I am excited for it.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"BoBo Bichette fields a grounder at third base during the Mets\u2019 Feb. 12, 2026 session during spring training. Corey Sipkin for the NY Post<\/p>\n

Bichette\u2019s offensive potential is what appealed to the Mets. <\/p>\n

Last season, he owned a .311\/.357\/.483 slash line with 18 homers and 94 RBIs in helping the Blue Jays reach Game 7 of the World Series.<\/p>\n

The Mets, after missing on free agent Kyle Tucker (who landed with the Dodgers<\/a>), snagged the 27-year-old Bichette as the rival Phillies were moving toward signing him.<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\tDelivering insights on all things Amazin\u2019s\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tSign up for Inside the Mets by Mike Puma, exclusively on Sports+\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\tThank you\n\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

Mendoza has indicated he is leaning toward batting Bichette third in the order, behind Francisco Lindor and Juan Soto.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s a ton of really good players on this team, and I think you can line it up any way,\u201d Bichette said. \u201cBut I have hit almost everywhere in my career, so I am ready for whatever.\u201d<\/p>\n

Bichette will help anchor a rebuilt infield that includes Jorge Polanco at first base and Marcus Semien at second. Lindor is returning to shortstop but will be absent from the Grapefruit League season as he rehabs from hamate bone surgery<\/a> in his left hand.<\/p>\n

Bichette said he\u2019s spent much of his early time in camp around Polanco, another veteran who was early to report.<\/p>\n

Just seeing Bichette in the batter\u2019s box against the Mets\u2019 ace, Peralta, was enough to raise Mendoza\u2019s excitement level on this day.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou get that kind of matchup, and OK, it\u2019s real now,\u201d Mendoza said. \u201cJust the fact that they are getting ready for their season and they get to go out and do it themselves together.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"PORT ST. LUCIE \u2014 Bo Bichette spent his first day of spring workouts listening intently Thursday as his…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":569781,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2396],"tags":[5,88,101,4,1690,61,2548,4203,1867,185,151],"class_list":{"0":"post-569780","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-new-york-mets","8":"tag-baseball","9":"tag-bo-bichette","10":"tag-mets","11":"tag-mlb","12":"tag-new-york","13":"tag-new-york-mets","14":"tag-newyork","15":"tag-newyorkmets","16":"tag-ny-sports-minute","17":"tag-sports","18":"tag-spring-training"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@mlb\/116062312126732723","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/569780","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=569780"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/569780\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/569781"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=569780"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=569780"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=569780"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}