Mets continue pattern of crushing Mariners fans' hopes with Bo Bichette signing

In the minds of Seattle Mariners fans, the possibility of Bo Bichette coming to the Pacific Northwest occupied a very particular niche: almost certainly not going to happen, but just realistic enough for the odd daydream or two.

The Mariners were probably never going to give Bichette a $200 million contract, but you could at least make the case that they should. And in the event that he was forced into entertaining short-term offers, well, obviously the Mariners would have to get involved then.

The latter seemed halfway plausible after Kyle Tucker inked a shorter-than-expected four-year, $240 million contract with the Los Angeles Dodgers on Thursday night. But only until Friday morning, when the New York Mets crashed the party by signing Bichette to a three-year, $126 million deal.

Mets once again crush Mariners fans' hopes with Bo Bichette signing

The timing of the Mets' agreement with Bichette borders on hilarious. They were reportedly in the running to sign Tucker, only to have their final offer beat by $20 million. He was the No. 1 free agent left on the board, and the Mets didn't even wait 12 hours to pivot to No. 2.

There's also humor to be found in how the Mets keep undercutting themselves. David Stearns wanted to make this winter about improving run prevention, but Joel Sherman of the New York Post isn't wrong to call out how Bichette and Jorge Polanco don't fit the mission:

Then again, you know who the Mets have that the Mariners don't? Jorge Polanco and Bo Bichette.

The first one hurt, and we still blame the Baltimore Orioles for backing the Mets into a corner by giving Pete Alonso the long-term deal that New York didn't think was out there for him. Polanco even seemed to have one foot back in Seattle at one point, but there's just no way the Mariners could pull him back once the Mets offered two years, $40 million.

Similarly, whatever short-term interest the Mariners might have had in Bichette wasn't going to result in that much money. At an average of $42 million, Bichette is now the highest-paid infielder in the sport.

If that seems excessive, it's because it is. Including catchers, Bichette isn't even a top-30 infielder by WAR since 2021. Giving a guy like that $42 million per year is the most desperate thing Mets owner Steve Cohen has done since… well, since he gave Polanco $20 million per year.

That said, nobody in Seattle would be in a position to complain if the Mariners had $126 million to spend and chose to put it all on Bichette. The 2026 club is one bat shy of looking ironclad for a World Series run, and the upside of Bichette's bat consists of a .300 average and 20-plus home runs. He would have been a perfect partner for Cal Raleigh, Julio Rodríguez, Josh Naylor and Randy Arozarena.

The best the Mariners can do now is still a trade for Brendan Donovan, and at least they don't have to worry about the Mets getting to him first. But since Bichette is notably not a member of the Boston Red Sox, that could only heighten Boston's likelihood of besting Seattle in the Donovan race.

For the time being, the Mariners' offseason just keeps sinking deeper into a weird malaise. Things started so promising with the signing of Josh Naylor. Ever since then, it's been one burst bubble after another.