January 16, 2026
John E. Sokolowski/Imagn Images
This but in red pinstripes is nothing more than daydreaming now.
Bo Bichette won't be settling into a Phillies lineup between Kyle Schwarber and Bryce Harper.
He'll be hitting against them within the division instead.
The big-name free-agent infielder has agreed to a three-year, $126 million deal with the rival New York Mets, per ESPN insider Jeff Passan and The Athletic's Will Sammon, leaving the Phillies empty-handed after weeks of rumors, a positive meeting, and a belief just as recent as Friday morning that they were the front-runners to land the former Blue Jays star.
Yet in the end, they got nothing.
Bichette's reported contract with the Mets will include opt-outs after Years 1 and 2, again per Passan.
Bichette, a right-handed bat who will turn 28 before the 2026 season, slashed .311/.357/.483 with Toronto last year, piling on 18 home runs, 44 doubles, and 40 walks, while keeping to a low 91 strikeouts.
Then in the World Series, after a knee injury suffered in September caused Bichette to miss most of the Blue Jays' postseason run, he returned in time to hit .348 off the eventual champion Dodgers, which included a big-time homer off Shohei Ohtani in Game 7.
He'll be the Mets' immediate replacement for Pete Alonso, their former power bat who left for Baltimore in free agency, and all after New York reportedly made its own whiff in pursuit of outfielder Kyle Tucker, who signed with the Dodgers on Thursday night.
He'll be the Phillies' problem to deal with for a bit now, too, after they appeared so close to having their own agreement on the table, per USA Today insider Bob Nightengale:
The Phillies had agreed to Bo Bichette’s request for a 7-year, $200 million deal last night and believed they would sign him until the Mets swooped in with their 3-year, $126 million offer after losing out in in the Kyle Tucker sweepstakes.
— Bob Nightengale (@BNightengale) January 16, 2026
As the rumors and chatter picked up, the generally held belief was that Bohm would be moved out to make room positionally at third base, and that the Phillies would need to clear both of their salaries from the books to be able to afford what would have been Bichette's heavy price tag.
As for catcher, bringing back Realmuto would be a safe, stable bet, but word of any sort of progress with the near 35-year-old has been quiet outside of a reported offer being issued by the Phillies.
The Bichette rumors also came with the thought that the Phillies would willingly take a hit at catcher by letting Realmuto walk if it meant getting the star bat. It would've marked a clear roster shakeup, too, after yet another failed postseason run marked by a lineup that notoriously goes cold at the worst possible times.
But now the Phillies are sitting empty-handed.
They have the runway to bring back Realmuto now, but it's a tough spot for all involved, because after missing out on Bichette, Realmuto won't seem like anything more than a consolation prize compared to the steady catcher he's been for years.
UPDATE [1:45 p.m.] – Realmuto is the consolation prize. He's back on a reported three-year, $45 million deal.
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