Bo Bichette, Mets Reportedly Agree to $126M Contract, Updated Roster, Payroll for 2026 Season

After a rebound 2025 season in which he helped the Toronto Blue Jays win the AL East for the first time 10 years, Bo Bichette has cashed in with a deal from the New York Mets.

The Athletic's Will Sammon first reported the agreement between Bichette and the Mets, who acted quickly to make a major move after Kyle Tucker agreed to a deal with the Los Angeles Dodgers on Thursday night.

Per Jon Heyman of the New York Post and MLB Network, the deal is worth $126 million over three years and includes opt outs after each of the first two seasons.

NBC Sports Philadelphia's John Clark reported the Philadelphia Phillies offered Bichette "much more guaranteed money over more years" before signing with the Mets.

The addition of Bichette ensures he will move off shortstop with Francisco Lindor entrenched at the position. MLB Network's Jon Morosi reported the expectation is Bichette will start at third base.

Per Spotrac, the addition of Bichette's $42 million average annual salary gives the Mets the second-most expensive roster in MLB at $358 million going into next season.

Coming off a World Series appearance this season, the long-term financial outlook for the Blue Jays was a key storyline for the future. They had $193 million the books in 2026 with just 12 players under contract, not counting arbitration and pre-arbitration players.

Vladimir Guerrero Jr. leads the list after landing a 14-year, $500 million contract extension in April.

That was before they struck quickly in free agency by signing Dylan Cease (seven years, $210 million), Cody Ponce (three years, $30 million) and Kazuma Okamoto.

The Blue Jays have tried to take big swings in free agency recently, making offers for both Juan Soto and Rōki Sasaki last year, but they missed out on both. They did sign Anthony Santander to a five-year, $92.5 million contract, though he wasn't living up to his potential before a shoulder injury landed him on the IL in May.

Bichette's free agency was going to be one of the most interesting to follow this winter. He had been very good through his first five seasons, but calf issues and a broken finger limited him to just 81 games in 2024 and he hit .225/.277/.322.

The 2025 campaign was a strong bounce-back year for Bichette in the final season of his three-year, $33.6 million extension signed in February 2023 to cover his remaining arbitration years.

Bichette hit .304/.349/.470 with 16 homers in 129 games. On top of that, he was one of the youngest free agents on the market with his 28th birthday not until March 5.

A knee injury kept Bichette out for most of Toronto's playoff run, but he was able to return for the World Series. Even though his speed was limited by the knee issue, he hit .348/.444/.478 in the seven-game series against the Los Angeles Dodgers.

The upside for for the Mets in signing a player at Bichette's age is tremendous, though it could also backfire if he pulls an Alex Bregman by opting out after one season and signs elsewhere next offseason. It's a risk the Mets absolutely had to take given how bad the vibes had gotten in Queens after losing Pete Alonso, Edwin Díaz and missing out on Tucker.

Bichette's defensive value was down in 2025, but he has been above-average with the glove in each of the previous five years that it's reasonable to assume he will be better going forward playing a less-demanding position.

This is still a very top-heavy Mets lineup, but the group of Lindor-Bichette-Soto could be as good as any trio in MLB in 2026 as they try to catch the Philadelphia Phillies as the top team in the NL East.