Blue Jays fans barely had time to shake off the Kyle Tucker gut punch before the next one landed. Multiple reports say longtime Jays shortstop Bo Bichette is headed to New York, agreeing to a three-year, $126 million deal with the Mets.
Bichette’s exit comes after he turned down the Jays’ one-year qualifying offer of $22.025 million for 2026, officially sending the 27-year-old into free agency. According to CBC Sports, the Mets deal is pending a successful physical, includes opt-outs after the first and second seasons and comes with no deferred money and a full no-trade clause. Bichette can reportedly opt out after one year ($47 million) or two years ($89 million), depending on how the early seasons go.
Toronto, for its part, didn’t exactly go quietly. Earlier this month, Animl Steakhouse posted an open letter to Bichette on Instagram with a pitch that was super on-brand for The Six: re-sign here and get steak for life (but apparently, even unlimited ribeye can’t compete with $126 million).
Still, Bichette’s landing spot caught a lot of people off guard. Many insiders expected Philadelphia to be the front-runner, so the Mets swooping in came as a surprise.
According to MLB insider Bob Nightengale, the Phillies had agreed to Bichette’s request for a seven-year, $200 million deal Thursday night, and believed they would sign him until the Mets swooped in with their three-year offer after missing out on Kyle Tucker.
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
Since debuting in 2019, Bichette became one of the Jays’ defining homegrown stars, hitting .311 with 18 home runs and 94 RBIs in 2025, and helping push Toronto into serious World Series contention.
Bichette’s news also lands in the shadow of another big swing-and-miss: Kyle Tucker. On Thursday morning, MLB insider Jon Heyman suggested that a deal for Tucker “could come as soon as today,” noting that Tucker’s former teammates believed he’d prefer Toronto over the other 29 teams. The 28-year-old star instead agreed to a four-year, $240 million contract with the Los Angeles Dodgers (this, even though Casa Nostra restaurant in Vaughan offered Tucker free pizza for life if he signed with Toronto).
Thankfully, Toronto is still looking good for the 2026 season, locking down Vladimir Guerrero Jr. long-term with a 14-year, $500 million extension, while also adding Dylan Cease, Tyler Rogers and Japanese star Kazuma Okamoto.
