For a large portion of the offseason, the Atlanta Braves were a popular landing spot for Bo Bichette and with good reason. The Braves had a very obvious hole in their roster at shortstop and Bichette was certainly the best hitting shortstop free agent on the market even if his defense left something to be desired. However, the Braves reuniting with Ha-Seong Kim quashed any minimal hope that Atlanta would sign Bichette, but that doesn't mean Bichette's name wouldn't come up in a different way.
The biggest quandry the Braves found themselves in with Bichette is that, by all accounts, he was going to be very expensive and giving out crazy money to a guy who might not even be able to adequately play the position you need him to is a significant problem.
However, one team that doesn't seem to care about spending money wisely at all is the Mets and unfortunately, they just landed Bichette on a massive AAV three-year deal.
Breaking: The New York Mets and Bo Bichette are in agreement on a three-year deal, pending physical, league source tells The Athletic.
— Will Sammon (@WillSammon) January 16, 2026
Braves apparently weren't done dealing with Bo Bichette after all after he signs with the Mets
The questions around Bichette's defense and viability at shortstop are very fair, but there is no denying that the guy can hit. Aside from 2024 which was a weirdly down year, you can pencil in Bichette to hit around .300 and hit 20-25 homers every single season. Now, Atlanta is going to have to reckon with the fact that that guy is now going to be in New York's lineup every single game.
Not all the news is bad for the Braves, though. First, giving Bichette $42 million a year is objectively insane no matter which team is paying it and the Mets are the ones stuck with the bill. More than that, the Phillies were heavily interested in Bichette and if forced to choose which of the Phillies or Mets lineups that Braves fans would prefer Bichette land in, it would probably be the Mets as they just can never seem to get out of their own way.
Unsurprisingly, it is looking once again like the NL East is going to be a bloodbath. The Braves are going to have to stay healthy if they want to rebound in 2026 and they definitely still can, although the Mets adding Bichette does make things a bit harder.