The Mets went big on Bo Bichette, throwing $126 million at him for three years, and spring training footage shows what they were banking on. With Francisco Lindor firmly entrenched at shortstop, Bichette is now sliding over to third base, a move away from his natural spot up the middle.

On paper, the Mets look a lot more dangerous with this revamped core, especially on offense, and that’s where a lot of the optimism comes from. But Bichette’s first spring training start flipped that excitement on its head as a few rough moments in the field went viral fast.

Suddenly, fans were asking an uncomfortable question: did the Mets really just spend $42 million a year on a guy who’s having trouble cleanly fielding ground balls?

“Bo Bichette looks 𝗵𝗼𝗿𝗿𝗲𝗻𝗱𝗼𝘂𝘀,” baseball insider Dan Clark shares footage of Bichette’s training.

Honestly, just watching that clip, it feels way too early to draw any real conclusions about Bo Bichette in blue and orange. For us, this looks a lot more like classic spring training rust. The kind that usually shakes off once the practices start piling up.

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That said, the video shows Bichette fielding routine grounders at third base, which definitely stirred things up. Fans wasted no time clowning him, while a few have mostly stayed patient and are still giving him the benefit of the doubt.

Neutral fans, though, went straight for the jugular with the obvious jab: this is what $42 million a year looks like?

What really fuels the concern is that it taps into memories of Bichette’s defensive struggles from last season.

According to Baseball Savant’s Fielding Run Value, last year he posted a -10, which tied him for the 11th-worst defensive mark among all fielders, and dead last among infielders in 2025. So now, with those numbers in the back of their minds, fans are taking to social media to ask the uncomfortable question:

Did the Mets miscalculate with Bo Bichette? Or is this just spring noise that’ll fade once the games start to matter?

Bo Bichette has left Mets fans concerned

How could someone like Bichette miss those grounders? “My 6-year-old fields better grounders in tee ball,” one fan said. “Why did they sign him? Clear regression candidate,” added another.

Yes, initial hiccups we can say over how Bichette missed those grounders. He showed up in New York with plenty of hype after a really strong 2025 season in Toronto. And why not? He put together a big year for the Blue Jays, hitting .311 with a .357 OBP and an .840 OPS, while adding 18 HRs and 94 RBIs in 139 games.

Sure, his defensive issues were part of why he ended up settling for a short-term deal this winter, but if he gives the Mets anything close to what he did last season, they’ll take that in a heartbeat. And let’s not forget this is the same guy who crushed that massive three-run homer in Game 7. So, if that version of Bichette shows up, Mets fans probably won’t be sweating the contract nearly as much.

“The glove will never be elite…but he is an elite hitter and will be just fine overall,” one fan agrees. The Blue Jays fans, Bichette might not contribute in defense, but his offense would make up for it.

“People who follow the Blue Jays aren’t surprised by this lol,” another user added. “First time using a brand new, larger glove, can we give the guy a week at least?” one user remarked.

Even with the Blue Jays, Bichette was never known as an elite defender, but his bat made him basically irreplaceable at shortstop. His offense more than covered for whatever he gave back in the field, and that’s been the story of his career.

On top of that, he’s playing third base for the first time, and that adjustment is about equipment, too. Third basemen usually use slightly bigger gloves than shortstops. While shortstops go with smaller gloves for quick transfers, third basemen tend to prefer larger ones to handle those hot-corner rockets. That alone takes some getting used to.

Hence, it feels way too soon to judge Bo Bichette off a few spring training clips. Let him settle in, get comfortable, and see where things stand after a few months of real games. That’s when the evaluation actually starts.