Bo Bichette downplays uncertainty about his Mets future

PHILADELPHIA — As someone with no-trade protection in his contract, Bo Bichette controls whether he will remain with the Mets beyond Aug. 3.

Bichette has indicated he’s in no hurry to leave.

And yet, the third baseman stopped short Saturday of saying he would block any trade proposal that involves him.

“That hasn’t been brought to my attention right now, so I don’t have an answer,” Bichette said before the Mets lost to the Phillies 6-1 at Citizens Bank Park.

Bichette is a long shot to be traded given he can opt out of his three-year, $126 million contract after the season.

The uncertainty of his status affects his trade value.

His offensive surge over the past six weeks has increased the likelihood he will opt out.

But Bichette said he doesn’t anticipate a decision on that front 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.”

Bichette entered the day with an .844 OPS over his previous 36 games dating to June 3.

It’s the kind of right-handed production that would be hard to replace next season if Bichette departed.

The Mets have plenty of pitchers that figure to move before the trade deadline, but most of the position players they might look to deal have significant dollars remaining on their contracts.

Bichette was asked if the direction the organization appears headed will factor into whether he opts out of his contract.

“I think there’s a lot of positive things here, and also some things that haven’t gone right,” he said. “Obviously, that is something everybody can see, but everything will be taken into account.”

What are the positives?

“There’s a lot of young players they have brought up, a positive outlook for the future,” Bichette 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.”

The youth movement includes rookies Nolan McLean, A.J. Ewing and Carson Benge, in addition to Christian Scott.

No member of that group is expected to be available in trade talks.

Bichette began the day with a .253/.297/.372 slash line overall after sputtering into early June.

Bichette said he hasn’t spent much time wondering why his success didn’t arrive earlier.

“I can’t do anything about those first two months,” Bichette said. “I wish I had gotten off to the 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 knows firsthand that a turnaround for the Mets next season isn’t a far-fetched notion.

He was part of a Blue Jays team that finished last in the AL East in 2024 before going to the World Series last year.

“We had a lot of injuries [in ’24] and I was one of them,” Bichette said. “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.”