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00:00All right, great day at Citi Field for the New York Mets.
00:02Bo Bichette formally introduced his first press conference, put on the jersey for the first time.
00:07Joel Sherman, our great baseball columnist, was here to see that.
00:11I haven't talked to you about this, Joel.
00:12What was your reaction to the Mets signing Bo Bichette, and how do you think he fits in this lineup?
00:18I think fit is the key thing here.
00:21The Mets moved out a lot of established, historic players for them, homegrown.
00:26McNeil, Alonzo, Nimmo.
00:28And they brought in a new group, Simeon, Polanco, Bichette, and Luis Robert now as well.
00:37The question you have to ask is, do you feel better today about the core group?
00:41Even if you love the Pete Alonzo, you love Nimmo, you like McNeil, whatever that thing is,
00:47the idea is to win baseball games, not to have a party with people.
00:50And the question is, do you feel better about the group?
00:53I like, so Bo Bichette, if I were thinking about this, I am 100% certain he is going to hit.
01:01He is a savant of hitting.
01:03He can hit any pitch, any pitcher.
01:05He's very aggressive.
01:07His aptitude is great as a hitter.
01:09Do I think he'll handle New York?
01:11If that's 100% that he'll hit, I think 90% to 95%.
01:14This is a hard-nosed, want-to-win guy.
01:18I don't think this is going to bother him.
01:21Can he handle third base?
01:2375%.
01:23Former shortstop, his knee is better.
01:26Anybody who watched him in the World Series on a bad leg play a position he'd never played second base
01:32and do it well has to be encouraged that his aptitude and will will help at third.
01:38But third is tough because the reaction time is short, and you have a lot more to do than a shortstop.
01:44A shortstop essentially goes out for relays.
01:47There's a bunch of different relay plays for third basemen.
01:49There's bunt plays that don't affect you as a shortstop.
01:52There's the do I stay back on a ball?
01:54Do I go in on a ball?
01:55So there is an education.
01:57That's why I'm not, even though I like the player's aptitude desire,
02:01I would put can he play third base at a lower thing than can he handle New York?
02:06And there's no question to me he's going to hit.
02:08He's a great savant hitter.
02:11Third base, for a team that wants run prevention, that would be my only doubt about this.
02:16Only doubt that you have there, and I did talk to Bo Bichette about it.
02:19He said he's up for the challenge.
02:20He did say that he's up for the challenge.
02:21Remember, his manager, Carlos Mendoza, lives in Tampa.
02:25Bo lives in St. Pete.
02:27They're going to work.
02:28Mendoza is well known as an infield coach besides being a manager.
02:32The Mets brought in Kai Correa, who they see as a kind of infield guru.
02:38I think Bo is going to go early to St. Lucie and work with Correa well before even the February 9th report date
02:44and start working there.
02:46I don't think work, desire, aptitude will be the issue for Bo Bichette making a change in position.
02:53It will simply be, the ball's on you quick.
02:55Can he handle that?
02:56You've got a lot of different, we saw Jazz Chisholm, for example, who is a sensational athlete.
03:02Maybe the best athlete on the Yankees.
03:03Maybe the best athlete they've had in a long time.
03:05But he'd get lost every once in a while on relay plays and stuff like that because it's different.
03:11And so the question is, high aptitude, Bo Bichette, does he kind of get it all down?
03:15Does it take 50 games to do that?
03:17Does it take spring training?
03:19Does it take never?
03:20And he doesn't actually get it.
03:21And then what do you do?
03:22So that is the only question for me on this player.
03:27I think it's a fair question.
03:28We don't know until we see him get the reps.
03:31Before we go, I do want to ask you because we saw yesterday, late last night, Mets get Luis Robert Jr.
03:36This is a little bit of a risky move that some people may look at because Robert Jr. has not hit the ball well the last couple of years.
03:42Sensational defensive player, right?
03:44We know we can steal bases when he gets on first or gets on the base pass.
03:47You wrote that you like the Mets taking this risk here, especially with the pocket, deep pockets that Steve Cohen has.
03:55You like them taking this risk.
03:56Do you think this will bode well for the Mets?
03:58I know you do not know.
03:59You cannot look into a crystal ball.
04:01But do you think this is the kind of player the Mets should go after and should have gone after to fortify their outfield?
04:05So, again, if I were playing that percentage game, I'd say 50-50, but the Mets are the kind of team that should take a 50-50 risk because of Steve Cohen's money.
04:14Because the baseline for this player, if he just stays healthy and he hasn't stayed healthy the last two years, he's had a hip, he's had two hamstrings, and he hasn't stayed healthy.
04:23Can the Mets medical people?
04:24He's 28.
04:25He's in his prime.
04:26He should be able to stay healthy if he's nothing but what he was last year, which is hit some homers, steal bases, and at a good percentage, field the hell out of the ball, and beat up lefty pitching.
04:39That's a 2-3 war player over 162 games and worth $20 million.
04:45As recently as 2023, he was one of the best players in the major leagues.
04:49He finished 12th in the American League for the MVP, hit 38 homers, stole a ton of bases.
04:54He played the outfield great.
04:55Again, he's only 28.
04:58How close do they get from the injured guy who was just okay last year, high strikeouts, got to deal with that even on the best day for him, to the guy who was in 2023?
05:10Now, the question also, with the White Sox, he needed to be the number three hitting savior.
05:15Doesn't have to do that.
05:15Here, you have Lindor, you have Soto, you now have Bo Bichette.
05:19He'll probably hit down in the lineup, 5-6-7, someplace more in there.
05:23Does that, taking the pressure off, bring back 2023 for a 28-year-old?
05:29I think it's a risk.
05:31It is the absolute risk you don't take if you are the Milwaukee Brewers or the Kansas City Royals.
05:37But if you play here and this is your owner, not the Wilpons, that's what you do.
05:42Now, you've got to take that.
05:43Last thing, real quick, I got for you.
05:45We asked Carlos Mendoza this, the members of the media.
05:49We also asked David Stearns this.
05:51So I'm going to ask you this.
05:52Do you think this Mets team is a contender in 2026 as currently constructed?
05:57I know there's still some moves they can make, but do you think they're a contender?
06:00I definitely think they're a contender because they begin the season, they're going to begin the season with two assets beyond whatever assets they have on the field.
06:09They're still going to have a strong prospect base and Steve Cohen's money.
06:13So they could fix this as it goes along.
06:15Could this all go like 2023 and be a complete disaster?
06:19Don't say that.
06:20I guess.
06:20Like, you know, again, 10%, 15% that this doesn't work out.
06:25Polanco can't handle first base.
06:27Bichette can't handle third.
06:28Senga and Minaya don't kind of come back and make a positive step as I believe the Mets think they're going to.
06:34There is an implosion possibility here.
06:37But, again, the guys who build the big casinos have the Mets near the top, the high 80s, and near the top of the National League.
06:45I look at this group as a group that should.
06:49And I just think, to me, Dexter, as I stand here, Senga Minaya.
06:54Senga Minaya.
06:54Now, I think the Mets will add a starting pitcher and maybe take some burden off of that.
06:58I think between now and the Super Bowl, the Mets show up the next day, February 9th in St. Lucie.
07:03They'll add a starter.
07:04That's what I believe in my gut.
07:05But even with that, the difference in this team is how close to their best do they get Senga and Minaya.
07:13Because if they add a real starter, those two guys come back, and McClain is what he is last year.
07:18And suddenly, Clay Holmes is your number five, or David Peterson is your number five.
07:22It's just a different group.
07:24And so, I just think so much of the variable from 80 wins to 95 is about Senga Minaya.
07:31We will see how it all plays out for the Mets, but a good day for them.
07:35They add Bo Bichette, introduce him here at the press conference.
07:37Also, Luis Robert Jr. is now on the phone.
07:39Now, Joel Sherman and I, we've got to wait and see what the Mets can do in 2026.
07:42Dexter Henry alongside Mike Puma, the great beat reporter, covering the New York Mets for the New York Post.
07:47And today, we saw the introduction of Bo Bichette, the new Mets third baseman.
07:52Very interesting.
07:53Bo, very excited to be here in New York.
07:56Mike, you heard a little bit about him playing third base.
07:59Excuse me, not first base, third base.
08:01But Mets playing a lot of different positions, players playing all over the place.
08:04What did you make of what you heard from Bichette today, from himself, and then also we heard from David Stearns.
08:10What did you make about what you heard about Bo Bichette today?
08:12Well, you know, and you expect him to say this.
08:16He's excited to be coming here and have an opportunity to play for a team that he thinks has a chance to compete for the World Series.
08:24This is a guy who, and I asked him about, you know, he was in Game 7 of the World Series just a couple of months ago.
08:31And just the hangover effect from that.
08:35I said, you know, at what point did you get over Game 7?
08:38And he's like, to some extent, he's not over it yet.
08:42And, you know, you want to get back there and have a chance to win it.
08:46And he thinks he has that opportunity here.
08:51He also talked about being reunited with Marcus Simeon, whom he played with in Toronto.
08:56Seems to have a very high opinion of Marcus Simeon.
09:00So that'll be a dynamic to watch the new second baseman and third baseman back together again.
09:06So one of the things I found interesting with this signing, Mike, was the fact that he'll be playing third base, has not played third base before.
09:13I asked Bo a little bit about that.
09:14I asked David Stearns about that as well.
09:17What would you say to Mets fans that maybe are a little bit concerned about him playing a new position
09:22and some other Mets possibly playing out of position or positions they haven't normally played?
09:26Yeah, and the two things you think about are the corner infield spots because you've got Jorge Polanco over there who's never played first base.
09:33He's played one game at first base in his career.
09:36Now you've got Bichette at third base.
09:38The way David Stearns framed it today is, hey, we're going to have a lot of times four shortstops out there on the infield.
09:45And, you know, he likes the possibilities of that.
09:50But, you know, it's one thing to have four athletic guys out there and another thing to go out there and make all the plays.
09:58So, you know, the Mets are certainly strong up the middle with Simeon and Lindor.
10:02It's going to be those two corner infield spots that are going to be a focal point here as we head to spring training.
10:09Definitely going to be a focal point.
10:10And then we also have to talk about what happened last night, the Mets acquiring Luis Robert Jr.
10:15What do you make of his fit?
10:17This is a guy who's been rumored to the Mets for a while.
10:19The White Sox have been trying to move on from him.
10:21Last couple of seasons, Mike, hitting has been down.
10:242023 was a great year for him at the plate.
10:27What do you think he can bring to this Mets ball club, and can he rediscover his presence at the plate?
10:33Yeah, and that's the thing the Mets are looking at with this guy.
10:35It's the ceiling on him because, you know, you look at Tyrone Taylor, who's a terrific defensive player,
10:41probably on that same level as Robert, if maybe not better.
10:45But the thing, you know what Tyrone Taylor's ceiling is offensively, whereas it's not very high.
10:53But you look here with Robert, he's the guy who's had two below-par seasons offensively,
11:01but he's also done it before at a very high level.
11:04And I think, you know, injuries have played into it, certainly, the last two seasons with him.
11:08So the number one thing with him with the Mets will be keeping him healthy, keeping him on the field,
11:14and then trying to reestablish that offense that he brings because they know he can run, steal bases, play defense.
11:21Yeah, 33 stolen bases last year, could play gold-glove caliber defense as well, too.
11:28I think one of the other things Mets fans are worrying about today, and we got a chance to talk to David Stearns about it.
11:32Okay, offseason sort of turned around a little bit, but Mets fans are wondering what is next for this team.
11:37A lot of talk about them potentially adding a starting pitcher.
11:39Do you think the Mets will add a front-line starter between now and the start of spring training?
11:45I think they're going to look very hard.
11:46I don't know.
11:47I can't answer that.
11:47You don't have a crystal ball.
11:48I can't answer that question.
11:50I think the preference is there to do that.
11:53We also know that David Stearns doesn't want to give out a long-term contract, say, to Frambois Valdez.
12:02We also know he doesn't want to part with too many of his prospects.
12:08So it's a tight rope to walk.
12:10But I think they're going to try very hard to bring in a front-line guy here.
12:15And, you know, they certainly have numbers in that rotation as far as guys who have pitched at the major league level, guys with high upside.
12:24It would be very nice to have that one shutdown guy that you know what he can do.
12:29Yeah, Mets fans would like to see that.
12:31Let's put a bow on this here and go back to Bo Bichette.
12:33But when you look at him now in this Mets lineup, another right-handed bat, a guy who's played in the World Series, as you mentioned, Mike, can hit in the clutch.
12:41How much do you think he enhances this Mets lineup?
12:44And do you like where this Mets lineup is right now as we move towards spring training?
12:47I do like where the lineup is right now.
12:50And, you know, the thing Bichette brings another right-handed bat there.
12:54And that's something you lost when Pete Alonzo signed with Baltimore was that big righty presence in the lineup.
13:01So I like Bichette.
13:02I like the fact he makes a lot of contact.
13:05You don't see too many 300 hitters in this day and age.
13:08And he's done it a couple of times in the last few years.
13:10He's very – he hits with runners in scoring position.
13:15He talked about, you know, growing up.
13:17That's something he always put an emphasis on was getting those RBIs.
13:21So, you know, I think this is a guy that the fan base is going to rally around.
13:26That is, you know, if he performs at his usual level.
13:29Yeah, that's what we've got to see, if he can perform at his usual level.
13:32But a good day for the Mets.
13:32They introduced Bo Bichette.
13:34That's going to do it from here at Citi Field.
13:36That is the great Mike Puma.
13:38Covers the Mets for us with The New York Post.
13:39I'm Dexter Henry.
13:40We will catch you next time.
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