Mets' Bo Bichette needs to 'breakout' after a rough start originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
The New York Mets have been a disappointment this season. At 17-25, the Mets have seen little production from a majority of the roster, but their big offseason acquisition, infielder Bo Bichette, has played poorly.
Signed to a three-year ($126 million) contract, with opt-outs after this season and next season, Bichette is hitting .224 with a .560 OPS in 42 games. This is not the same level of production he had in his final season with the Toronto Blue Jays, where he hit .311 with a .840 OPS in 139 games.
Bichette's poor start after signing a lucrative deal has him listed as a candidate who needs to start breaking out before the season gets too far away from him.
New York Mets Bo Bichette needs to start breaking out
Coming to a new team, Bichette does face pressure to perform and live up to his contract, which hasn't gone well. Not living up to expectations is the reason why Bichette was labeled as someone who needs to start "breaking out" by Bleacher Report's Kerry Miller.
"Though New York has had many expensive disappointments through the first quarter of the season, there's really no debate that Bichette has been the biggest letdown of the bunch," wrote Miller. "The Mets ponied up a three-year, $126M deal to make Bichette their primary third baseman, banking on him to rack up at least 175 hits and 50 extra-base hits for what would be the fifth time in six years. Instead, he has a .561 OPS and is barely even on pace for 175 total bases, let alone 175 hits. The only good news is that his glove has been respectable at the hot corner, but you have to really want to see that as a silver lining."
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All of the Mets' offseason acquisitions haven't performed well. Second baseman Marcus Semien, who was acquired from the Texas Rangers for outfielder Brandon Nimmo, is batting .219 with a .572 OPS. Outfielder Luis Robert Jr., who was acquired in a trade from the Chicago White Sox, is on the injured list (lumbar spine disc herniation) and has no timetable for return. When he was on the field, Robert Jr. batted .224 with a .656 OPS.
Infielder Jorge Polanco has also played poorly, batting .179 with a .532 OPS, and is also injured (left Achilles bursitis/right wrist contusion).
A quarter of the way through the season, if players like Bichette and Semien don't start getting it together, the Mets' season might be lost.
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