The Los Angeles Lakers star was not voted as starter for February's NBA All-Star Game at the Intuit Dome in Inglewood, California, next month, after 10 players – five from each conference – were revealed during the league's MLK Day coverage on Monday, Jan. 19.
It breaks a record run of 21 consecutive All-Star Games in which James has been selected as a starter, dating back to his second season in the league.
The five starters from each conference were chosen through voting conducted through the fans (50%), media (25%) and current players (25%).
The 41-year-old still has an opportunity to make this year's All-Star Game as a reserve in his record 23rd season. Those will be announced on Sunday, Feb. 1 after being picked by the league's coaches.
This year's All-Star Game, scheduled to be played on Feb. 15, features a round-robin style USA vs. World format with the goal of having 16 American selections and eight international picks.
The NBA is trying again to jolt life into its All-Star weekend after years of waning interest from players and fans alike. The solution this year has been to attempt to replicate some of dynamics from the successful 4 Nations Faceoff event held in lieu of an NHL All-Star Game in 2025.
His candidacy as an All-Star during got more complicated after he missed the opening 14 games of the Lakers' regular season while dealing with sciatica. James was nonetheless averaging nearly 23 points, six rebounds and seven assists through, Sunday, Jan. 18.
James has been selected as an All-Star in every year of his NBA career except his rookie season (2003-04) and won All-Star Game MVP three times.
The NBA tips off early on MLK Day, which means NBA player props to bet on all day long.
I’ve found my three best bets for today, including Devin Booker dishing out the dimes against the Nets, and one of my favorite trends going, which is fading the Miami Heat on the glass.
Check out those and more of my NBA picks for Monday, January 19.
Filipowski averages 2.0 assists per game, but has nine since being inserted into the starting lineup three games ago. He also had six assists in a matchup against the Spurs at the end of December.
Opportunity combined with pressure from Wemby means Filipowski is a great bet to hit the Over on his assists prop here.
Booker averages 6.4 assists per game overall, and 7.0 over his last seven games, topping 6.5 assists five times over that stretch.
Tonight, he faces a Nets team that has struggled defensively, particularly when opponents are willing to make the extra pass. The Nets rank 24th in defensive rating and allow the second-most assists per possession.
Book will cook the Nets with his playmaking ability.
The Miami Heat are playing basketball. This means I am fading them on the glass.
It’s not that the Heat are a bad rebounding team (they’re not great, ranking 21st in rebounding rate), it’s that they play at the highest pace in the NBA, and take the most shots per game.
More shots inherently mean more rebounds, and the only question is which Golden State Warriors player to target tonight.
My favorite option is Brandin Podziemski. The shooting guard averages 4.4 rebounds per game and has topped 4.5 four times in his last eight games.
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And for the first time in 21 seasons, LeBron James was not selected as one of the first five, though he still has the chance to extend his record streak of consecutive All-Star selections.
The NBA made the announcement Monday, Jan. 19, during the pre-game show leading into the Oklahoma City-Cleveland Cavaliers game that’s part of the Martin Luther King Jr. Day showcase.
Starters were selected through a fan vote (50% weight), and a survey of NBA players (25%) and a media panel (25%). Players were selected without regard for position. Accounting and services giant Ernst & Young managed and certified the surveys.
The format for this year’s game, however, will be different this season. The league is going to a USA versus the world format in which three, eight-player teams will compete in a round-robin tournament. The East and West starters, therefore, will be slotted into those eight-player teams. NBA coaches will select All-Star reserves, but if there are not enough domestic or international player, NBA commissioner Adam Silver will intervene to fill out the teams.
Here are the 10 starters for the 2026 NBA All-Star Game, which will be held Feb. 15 at the Intuit Dome in Los Angeles:
NBA All-Star Game starters
Eastern Conference
Cade Cunningham, Detroit Pistons (second All-Star selection)
Jalen Brunson is taking his show from the Broadway stage out West for a Hollywood premiere.
The Knicks' leading man has been named a starter for the Eastern Conference in the 2026 NBA All-Star Game on Sunday, Feb. 15 at the Intuit Dome in Inglewood, CA, the league announced Monday afternoon.
It's Brunson's third consecutive All-Star nomination, and second straight as a starter, as he's having arguably his best season in the league with 28.2 points, 6.1 assists, and 3.2 rebounds per game over 37 contests this year.
He joins the Milwaukee Bucks' Giannis Antetokounmpo, Philadelphia 76ers' Tyrese Maxey, Detroit Pistons' Cade Cunningham, and Boston Celtics' Jaylen Brown as the East starters.
The Western Conference starters will consist of the Los Angeles Lakers' Luka Doncic, Denver Nuggets' Nikola Jokic, Golden State Warriors' Stephen Curry, Oklahoma City Thunder's Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, and San Antonio Spurs' Victor Wembanyama.
Brunson recorded 12 points, five assists, and four rebounds over 17 minutes in the 2024 All-Star Game (East vs. West format) and then scored three points with three assists in the 2025 All-Star Game for Kenny Smith's Young Stars team (three-team single elimination tournament format).
This year, the All-Star Game will adopt a new USA vs. World format with a round-robin tournament consisting of three teams. There will be two teams made of American players and one of international players with each team having eight players. If the teams fall short of the required numbers, NBA commissioner Adam Silver will add to the player pool. Overall, there will be four, 12-minute long games and the two teams with the best record will advance to the championship round.
The 2026 All-Star Game reserves will be selected by the league's coaches on Feb. 1.
Three changes for Brighton from their last Premier League game, a 1-1 draw at Manchester City. Joel Veltman, Brajan Gruda and Danny Welbeck come in for Maxcim De Cuyper, Yasin Ayari and Georginio Rutter. Gruda and Welbeck starred in the FA Cup victory at Old Trafford eight days ago.
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — A record-breaking third-wicket stand between Ibrahim Zadran and Darwish Rasooli led Afghanistan to a commanding 38-run win over West Indies on Monday in the first Twenty20 of their three-match series.
Zadran made a career-best unbeaten 87 off 56 balls and Rasooli scored 84 off 59 balls as they combined in a 162-run stand in a strong total of 181-3.
The West Indies top-order struggled against the experienced spin duo of Rashid Khan (2-19) and Mujeeb Ur Rahman (2-29) before cameos from debutant Quentin Sampson (30) and Gudakesh Motie (28) carried them to 143-9.
The series is part of the teams' build-up for next month’s T20 World Cup with West Indies yet to finalize its squad for the mega event to be jointly hosted by India and Sri Lanka.
“As long as we are bringing our best skills to the game, it doesn’t matter whether we bat first or second,” Afghanistan captain Rashid said. “As a team, we are fit and hopefully we will have a good World Cup.”
West Indies made a promising start when Rahmanullah Gurbaz was run out on the first ball and captain Brandon King took a spectacular one-handed catch of Sediqullah Atal in the slips as Afghanistan slipped to 2-19 in the third over.
But Zadran and Rasooli then raised Afghanistan’s highest-ever third-wicket partnership in T20s off 113 balls against some wayward West Indies bowling. Motie stemmed the flow of runs briefly in the middle overs with his economical four-over spell of 0-18, but both Afghan batters showed plenty of aggression against pace in the second half of the innings.
West Indies was also scrappy in the outfield and dropped at least three catches in the death overs as Zadran and Rasooli upped the ante and scored 70 runs in the last six overs. Fast bowlers Matthew Forde and Shamar Joseph gave away 91 runs in their eight overs while left-arm spinner Khary Pierre (0-42) was also expensive.
Forde had a consolation wicket on the final ball when Rasooli holed out in the outfield after striking eight boundaries and two sixes.
West Indies stumbled to 3-42 inside the power play when Mujeeb clean bowled King in the first over; Rasooli held on to Evin Lewis’ top-edge in the outfield and Johnson Charles was out lbw while attempting a switch hit against Mujeeb’s quicker delivery.
Rashid then made an immediate impact by grabbing two wickets in his successive overs that included the key wicket of Shimron Hetmyer, who scored only three off seven balls, as West Indies further slipped to 5-50 in the ninth over.
Sampson and Forde (25) combined in the best West Indies partnership of 45 before fast bowler Ziaur Rahman, who conceded 16 runs off his first four balls, claimed two wickets in his return spell and finished with 3-36.
“We are disappointed to lose the game,” King said. “We showed glimpses of good cricket but it wasn’t good enough. Afghanistan are a team that have quite a few good spinners, we will talk about it on the day off and review the game.”
The next two games will be played on Wednesday on Thursday.
The New York Knicks will be looking to snap a three-game losing streak when they welcome the Dallas Mavericks to Madison Square Garden on Monday night.
New York hasn’t been able to cover with any regularity lately, and I’m taking Dallas with a boatload of points in my Mavericks vs. Knicks predictions.
Let’s take a closer look at tonight’s matchup in New York in my free NBA picks for January 19.
Mavericks vs Knicks prediction
Mavericks vs Knicks best bet: Mavericks +10.5 (-110)
The New York Knicks may be getting Jalen Brunson back tonight, but how much that will matter remains to be seen.
New York is 0-3 since Wednesday, when Brunson went down early in a 112-101 loss to the Kings. It’s not as though the Knicks were lighting the world on fire before Brunson got hurt, as they had won just two of their previous seven games.
The Dallas Mavericks are also getting a key player back tonight. Rookie Cooper Flagg (18.8 ppg) was also hurt early in a Wednesday loss to the Nuggets, but is expected to come back from his sprained ankle in New York tonight.
Unlike the Knicks, the Mavericks were able to work around the loss of Flagg, winning two straight games against the Jazz on Thursday and Saturday.
Dallas is still trying to find itself — this is still a rebuilding season — but they’ve gone 4-3 in their last seven games overall, and have proven they have weapons that can win games.
That includes 35-year-old Klay Thompson, who is averaging 12.0 ppg and put up 23 and 26 points in the two games Flagg missed.
The Knicks have been awful for bettors lately, covering in just two of their last 12 games. Given those struggles, it’s hard to see them covering a double-digit spread against a healthy Mavericks team.
Mavericks vs Knicks same-game parlay
Dallas has his the Over on its last three games, and with both Flagg and Brunson likely back tonight, we should see enough points on the board to hit the Over again.
I’m also going to take Flagg to hit at least two 3-pointers tonight, as he hit that target in three of his last four complete games before getting injured in Wednesday’s contest.
Mavericks vs Knicks SGP
Mavericks +10.5
Over 230
Cooper Flagg Over 1.5 made threes
Our "from downtown" SGP: Fabulous Flagg
Flagg has dished out five or more assists in 10 of his last 11 full games, and should once again be able to move the ball tonight against the Knicks.
Mavericks vs Knicks SGP
Mavericks +10.5
Over 230
Cooper Flagg Over 1.5 made threes
Cooper Flagg Over 4.5 assists
Mavericks vs Knicks odds
Spread: Mavericks +10.5 | Knicks -10.5
Moneyline: Mavericks +350 | Knicks -450
Over/Under: Over 230 | Under 230
Mavericks vs Knicks betting trend to know
The Knicks are 2-10 ATS in their last 12 overall. Find more NBA betting trends for Mavericks vs. Knicks.
How to watch Mavericks vs Knicks
Location
Madison Square Garden, New York, NY
Date
Monday, January 19, 2026
Tip-off
5:00 p.m. ET
TV
NBC/Peacock
Mavericks vs Knicks latest injuries
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ATLANTA (AP) — Kristaps Porzingis and Zaccharie Risacher will both miss at least another week for the Atlanta Hawks while recovering from injuries.
Porzingis sat out his sixth straight game when the Hawks hosted the Milwaukee Bucks on Monday. He has been dealing with left Achilles tendinitis in another season married by injuries and illness.
Risacher, the top overall pick in the 2024 draft, missed his sixth straight game because of a left knee bone contusion.
Both players will be reevaluated in about a week, the team said.
Porzingis has played just 17 games for the Hawks after being acquired last summer from the Boston Celtics. He is averaging 17.1 points and 5.1 rebounds.
While college football is set to crown its national championship on Monday, Jan. 19 after Indiana's game against Miami, the race for men's college basketball's ultimate prize is heating up about two months before the start of the NCAA Tournament.
In a week, the number of undefeated teams in the sport dwindled from five to three, with No. 2 Iowa State and No. 8 Vanderbilt both suffering two losses. The Cyclones were blown out 84-63 on the road by Kansas before following that up with a 79-70 setback at Cincinnati four days later. The Commodores, meanwhile, lost by 16 on the road against Texas and fell 98-94 at home to reigning national champion Florida.
No. 1 Arizona continued its perfect start to the season, moving to 18-0 with wins against rival Arizona State and at UCF. No. 10 Nebraska, the only other unbeaten team from a power conference, also kept its unblemished record intact, drubbing Oregon and Northwestern by a combined 54 points.
Fans from around the globe cast their ballots, picking who should start in the NBA All-Star Game next month in Los Angeles. Those fan votes (50% of the total) — combined with votes from NBA players (25%) and select media (25%) — have chosen the 10 All-Star Game starters. There are five starters from the Eastern Conference and five from the West (even though those players will later be divided into two USA and one World team for the new format, more on that below).
Those All-Star Game starters will be unveiled today on NBC, read by the NBA Showtime crew live on set at 2 p.m. Eastern. This will be right before the tip-off of the Oklahoma City at Cleveland game, part of a quadruple header of Martin Luther King Day games on NBC and Peacock.
Refresh this page, where we will have all the details on who the starters will be, as well as analysis of those selections.
Who picks All-Star Game reserves?
Now that the fans have had their say, it falls to the coaches around the league.
NBA coaches will vote to choose the seven reserve (or bench) players from each conference. The results of the vote and the names of the remaining NBA All-Stars will be announced next week on NBC.
Those starters and reserves will then be divided up into three teams as part of a new USA vs. World All-Star Game format. Two international players, Luka Doncic in the West and Giannis Antetokounmpo in the East, were the top vote-getters among fans.
All-Star Game format
While the idea of a USA vs. international players All-Star Game format has been talked about for years, 2026 felt like the right time.
That's because the NBA All-Star Game returns to NBC and debuts on Peacock in the middle of the Milan Cortina Winter Olympics. That was a perfect setup for the first-of-its-kind All-Star Game format.
The 24 All-Star players will be divided into three teams — two USA teams and one world team — that will compete in a round-robin tournament of four 12-minute games. Each of the three teams will have a minimum of eight players (if the USA or World teams are short on players, the league office will select one or more players to reach the required number).
At the end of the round-robin, the two top teams will play a championship game (the fourth 12-minute game of the day) for the title.
All-Star weekend tips off on Feb. 13 with the Rising Stars at the Intuit Dome at 6 p.m. PT, featuring the league's top first- and second-year players. Also on the 13th is the NBA All-Star Celebrity Game, featuring stars from media, sports and entertainment at the Kia Forum. The Forum also hosts the fifth annual NBA HBCU Classic at 8 p.m. that night.
On Saturday, Feb. 14, All-Star Saturday night — featuring the Skills Challenge, 3-point Contest and the Dunk Contest — will take place at the Intuit Dome.
The 75th NBA All-Star Game will take place on Sunday, Feb. 15, at 5 p.m. Eastern, earlier than in previous years, leading into more coverage of the Milan Cortina Winter Olympics.
How to Watch the NBA on NBC and Peacock
Peacock NBA Monday will stream up to three Monday night games each week throughout the regular season. Coast 2 Coast Tuesday presents doubleheaders on Tuesday nights throughout the regular season on NBC and Peacock. On most Tuesdays, an 8 p.m. ET game will be on NBC stations in the Eastern and Central time zones, and an 8 p.m. PT game on NBC stations in the Pacific and often Mountain time zones. Check local listings each week. Both games will stream live nationwide on Peacock. NBC Sports will launch Sunday Night Basketball across NBC and Peacock on Feb. 1, 2026. For a full schedule of the NBA on NBC and Peacock, click here.
There are bad teams in the NBA that can spring a surprise at any moment, and the Utah Jazz did upset the San Antonio Spurs less than a month ago.
That said, my Jazz vs. Spurs predictions do not expect that jolt to be sprung twice. Find out why my NBA picks are calling for a first-half statement by San Antonio on Monday, January 19.
Jazz vs Spurs prediction
Jazz vs Spurs best bet: Under 117.5 1H (-115)
Afternoon games often lead to slow starts, with NBA players far more used to their routine than the general public may realize.
This game tips off at 3:00 p.m. on the Utah Jazz players' body clocks. That may seem anecdotal, but combine that reality with the San Antonio Spurs' Under tendencies — cashing eight straight Unders before Saturday's shootout between Victor Wembanyama and Anthony Edwards — and the sluggish start becomes that much more likely.
The stats broadly agree with this thought, too. Utah ranks No. 23 in offensive rating in the last 10 games, while San Antonio ranks No. 4 in defensive rating in that same stretch.
The Spurs should control this game in a rout until it eases to the final whistle.
Jazz vs Spurs same-game parlay
Utah is evading notice thus far, enjoying only the seventh-worst record in the NBA, but the Jazz are very much tanking. They have gone 0-5 against the spread in their last five first halves, somehow losing a first quarter to Charlotte, 45-14.
This all may lead to a blowout, but Stephon Castle should clear his assist prop early. Ball movement is ripe against Utah.
Jazz vs Spurs SGP
Under 117.5 1H
Spurs -10 1H
Stephon Castle Over 7.5 assists
Our "from downtown" SGP: Wemby gets some rest
Doubting Wembanyama to score aplenty today is very much a doubt that the French star will need to play much in the fourth quarter, if at all.
Jazz vs Spurs SGP
Under 117.5 1H
Spurs -10 1H
Stephon Castle Over 7.5 assists
Victor Wembanyama Under 25.5 points
Jazz vs Spurs odds
Spread: Jazz +16.5 | Spurs -16.5
Moneyline: Jazz +700 | Spurs -1100
Over/Under: Over 241 | Under 241
Jazz vs Spurs betting trend to know
Before Saturday’s shootout against Anthony Edwards, the previous eight Spurs games had all gone Under their totals and by an average of 19.9 points per game. Find more NBA betting trends for Jazz vs. Spurs.
How to watch Jazz vs Spurs
Location
Frost Bank Center, San Antonio, TX
Date
Monday, January 19, 2026
Tip-off
5:00 p.m. ET
TV
FDSN-Southwest, KJZZ
Jazz vs Spurs latest injuries
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Arizona managed to avoid the upset bug for another week. Thus the still-undefeated Wildcats remain at No. 1 for a second consecutive poll, this time claiming all 31 first-place votes. Last week’s second-ranked team wasn’t as fortunate, as Iowa State tumbles all the way to No. 9 after dropping a pair of road games in the Big 12.
New No. 2 Michigan leads a succession of teams moving up a notch as a result of the Cyclones’ fall. Connecticut, Purdue and Duke round out the top five, followed by Houston, Nebraska and Gonzaga. The Cornhuskers, now at No. 7 and one of only three remaining teams yet to lose, continues to establish new all-time high rankings for the program. Michigan State is back in the top 10, followed by No. 11 Illinois and No. 12 Texas Tech, as those three each move up two positions.
Vanderbilt is another team falling back after slipping six spots to No. 14.
North Carolina went 0-2 in the Bay Area last week but hangs on to a spot in the poll at No. 24, down nine places. Making its season debut in the poll is No. 23 Saint Louis, the first top-25 appearance for the Billikens since January of 2021. No. 25 St. John’s also rejoins the rankings, as Utah State and Iowa drop out.
Bo Bichette has been a Blue Jay since we drafted him in the second round of the 2016 draft, so ten years now, seven of them with the major league team.
He was a top prospect, reaching number eight on Baseball America’s top 100 prospect list. In 2017 he was number on nine our top 40 list (mistakes were made, TJ Zeuch and Conner Greene were in the two spots ahead of him), moving up to number two in 2018 (you can guess who was number one).
In 2018 I wrote:
Bo’s second pro season went as well as his first. He hit .362/.423/.564 splitting time between Lansing and Dunedin with 14 home runs.
Bo is on everyone’s list of Top 100 MLB prospects, 8th on Baseball America’s, 14th on MLB’s and 19th on Baseball Prospectus.
About the only question is can he stay at short. Some think he’ll have to move to second, but if he continues to hit as well as he has, we’ll be ok with a little less than terrific range. He has been working at his defense. It might come down to which position is open when it is time to call him up.
He was called up at the end of July in 2019, and started his MLB career with an 11 game hitting streak and finished the season with a .311/.358/.571 line with 11 home runs in 46 games. 2021 was COVID shortened, but he hit .301/.328/.512 in 29 games, and the Jays made it to the Wild Card round of the playoffs.
In 2021, he finally got to play a full season, and he showed us what he could do, leading the league in hits with 191, slugging 29 home runs and made the All-Star team for the first time
And he would do, pretty much, the same for the just of his time with the Jays (excepting the 2024 season), putting up OPS numbers in the lower .800s. Being at or near the top of the league in hits, getting his 20ish home runs a year.
It was strange, he was consistently about the same in OPS, but he would get there in different ways, sometimes he would start out slow and save his season in the last month. Sometimes he would start hot and slump near the end, finishing in that same area. Last year, he had a .738 OPS at the end of June, but then had a terrific second half, getting it up to .840 before the injury that ended his regular season.
2024 was the outlier, he had a .225/.277/.322 after 81 games. I was sure he’d have a terrific second half to bring his numbers back to his career norms, but then an injury took away his chance.
In a way, it is too bad that he came up at the same time as Vlad. Vlad has charisma, an obvious sense of humour, and a sense of fun. Bo didn’t always show those things, or at least not to the point where they weren’t overshadowed by Vlad.
Bo seemed more guarded, I guess more business-like. He didn’t have the interview answers with Hazel that made you smile or made you like him more. Maybe if Vlad wasn’t so…..Vlad like we’d feel more connected to Bo.
But then Bo seemed great with his teammates. He always seemed to be chatting with someone on the bench and there were moments when he’d allow himself a little smile or something that showed us there was a personality in there.
If they had come up together 40 years ago (well, maybe 60 years ago), everyone would say that Bo was serious about the game, that he was a student of the game and was always looking to get better, and Vlad would be written off (at least a bit) for being a clown, for not being serious about the game.
I put in ‘Bo Bichette personality’ in Google and the AI summery said
…a mix of fiery competitiveness, perfectionism, infectious energy, and surprising sincerity, known for his aggressive play style, leadership by example (always early, working hard), and growing willingness to discuss mental health, contrasting a seemingly carefree exterior with a deep internal drive for success. He’s charismatic, connects with fans, and leads with an intense desire to win, viewing baseball as a mental battle, yet remains grounded and focused on his craft.
That seems very fair. Everything seems ‘on field’ with him. You don’t see Bichette commercials between innings. When there is an interview with him, he keeps it focused on baseball, there is very little personal stuff involved.
Among the bullet points:
Authentic & Vulnerable (Increasingly): He’s opening up about the pressures of the game, viewing it as true strength, a shift from stoicism.
He did talk about the pressures, some last year, when he was struggling.
I think the Mets were smart to offer a shorter-term contract (though $42 million a year seems a lot of money). I’ve often thought he was unlikely to age well, since he doesn’t control the strike zone, but then he is smart and driven, perhaps he’ll figure out how to continue to be great as his reflexes slow a bit.
I’m not sure that third base is the right spot for him. I think he’d be much better at second base, but again, he’s a hard worker and smart, so he’ll figure out how to play it to the best of his abilities.
As much as I have worries that he won’t age well, I’m sorry to see him go. I’m not tired of watching him play. I’d like to see how he deals with playing into his 30s. See if he can remake himself. See if he can gain some control over the strike zone. And I’d like to watch him learn a new position.
I’m not too worried about the loss of his leadership skills. We seem to have a number of good leaders on the team. And I think we’ll be ok with the loss of his bat. But we’ve been following him up close for seven seasons (and following his rise through the minors before that). I’m going to miss watching him play (as much as I’m not going to miss Buck praising his two-strike approach when the stats don’t show that he is great with two strikes).
Best of luck with the Mets, Bo. Thanks for all the great memories. Thanks, especially, for the home run in the World Series.
It’s the dream of all baseball players to have a singular, meteoric rise from the moment they turn professional until their on top of the baseball world. It’s surely the dream of the teams that select them, too.
More often than not, it’s a rockier road, and certainly not a linear one. That’s been the case with Cam Collier so far in his still nascent professional career, though through the right lens even some of his bumps in the road still come out looking pretty optimistic.
Take, for instance, his 2025 season. He busted his thumb in spring camp, and it set him back for months. He began the year back in Arizona playing in Rookie Ball to get reps, not starting a game there until May 19th. He eventually returned to High-A Dayton the first week of June and didn’t sock his first homer there until June 14th, after which he’d go all the way until August 26th before hitting another.
All that from the guy whose 20 homers with Dayton the previous season led the entire Midwest League.
Clearly, the thumb issue impacted his swing, his bat speed, his overall power. Yet as Collier advanced up to AA Chattanooga in the Southern League, he still found a way to post a .377 OBP that tied for 11th best in the league with two others, one of whom being top Reds prospect Sal Stewart (who obviously moved right on up after doing that). This, all in Collier’s age-2o season.
So, we’ve got a guy who has a) shown enough in-game power to lead a league in homers, b) overcome a serious injury mid-season to get back on the field, and c) shown burgeoning excellence in commanding the strike zone and getting on-base, all while being one of the youngest guys at each level.
Yeah, he might be just a 1B-only guy defensively, but that’s the makings of an offense powerhouse of a prospect, one who is surely aching to put it all on display in a healthy 2026 season that should see him rise to AAA Louisville. And as we all know, if you’re at AAA Louisville, you’re just a sniff away from being a big leaguer, something he’s very much on the cusp of becoming despite a big speed-bump in 2025.
(Man, look at that potential 1B/DH logjam the Reds have looming…)
Collier’s your #6 prospect in this year’s Community Prospect Rankings, running away with the voting over the weekend over a talented field. If I were a gamblin’ man, I’d wager that Cam’s about to have the kind of breakout 2026 that shoots him right back in Top 100 overall prospect conversations, as that bat is simply going to continue to play.
In a series of events that developed fast enough to give fans whiplash, the Mets went from missing on Kyle Tucker to inking Bo Bichette less than 24 hours later. The 27-year-old shortstop spurned a long-term deal from the Phillies to sign an extremely player-friendly deal in New York; three years, $126 million, and—most critically—opt-outs after both year one and year two.
You’re no doubt familiar with Bichette, if for nothing other than his nearly-series-defining home run in last year’s World Series. Outside of that moment, he’s been one of the better shortstops in baseball since debuting in 2019, posting a cumulative 120 wRC+ and cresting 3.8 fWAR in all but one season. The one outlier—2024—was an injury plagued year in which Bichette struggled with a calf injury. He’s a good player, at times bordering on a great one, and you usually want to add that kind of guy when you can.
At the same time, Bichette’s profile is not typical. Ten years ago, we’d have looked at the top of the scale swing rates and ~10th percentile chase rates and flatly said that Bichette’s approach is problematic. Now we can recognize that he does a good enough job of swinging at the pitches he can damage such that his overall approach is broadly fine (as measured by SEAGER). Similarly, we might’ve assumed his high BABIP was unsustainable, and his offense as a result was fake. Now we have batted ball data that largely backs up his outlier ability to find open grass.
Even with that better understanding, you can see the warts. It’d be better if Bichette swung and chased less. It’d be better if he pulled the ball in the air more than 6.8% of the time. It’s also great that he’s a young free agent, but his exit velocities have already begun to decline, both in terms of max EV and 90th percentile. The recent history of lower body injuries—the aforementioned calf problems and a wonky knee injury last season—are concerning as well. We’ve also not mentioned the defense, which has gone from bad at shortstop to unplayable. Not a direct problem for the Mets of course, but something that should be noted.
Perhaps you’re more optimistic about the above, which is valid. The roster fit, however, is undeniably odd. Prior to this move, the Mets had a solid starting infield—Baty, Lindor, Semien, Polanco left to right—and an obvious hole in the outfield. Now, Bichette is slated to play a position he’s never played before (he’ll probably be fine there) while Baty has been bumped into a super utility role. It’s an odd allocation of resources, one that diminishes the net impact of the move.
The cost here could be described as anything from “high” to “astronomical.” We already mentioned the contract terms, but here’s what that actually translates to:
$42 million in direct salary for 2026
$30-35 million in CBT penalties
2nd and 5th highest selections in the 2026 draft, worth something like $1.5-2 million in pool space
$1 million in IFA
On top of that, the opt-out structure gives the Mets all the downside and none of the upside. If Bichette has a good season, demonstrating that his knee is healthy and he can play another position well, he opts out for a bigger deal as a 28-year-old free agent with no QO attached. If the injuries linger or if the defensive decline is not ameliorated by the move down the spectrum, the Mets are left holding the bag.
Our view on this move might change when we get to the end of the offseason and consider the totality of moves. Maybe Baty gets traded for a big-name player (Jarren Duran, Tarik Skubal, and Cole Ragans are some options). Maybe another starter and/or outfielder gets added and Baty becomes a valuable super-utility guy in the mold of Jeff McNeil. Right now, though, this looks like a very expensive move that doesn’t align at all with the roster’s needs.
We’d also be remiss if we didn’t discuss the narrative surrounding this deal. It sure seemed like the Mets were confident that they were going to get Kyle Tucker, or at least Steve Cohen’s tweet suggested that. Objectively, declining to give Tucker the highest AAV ever is a fine baseball decision; subjectively, acting like you’ve got a player in the bag and then coming up second (not the first time this has happened, either) makes you something of a laughing stock, particularly when you’re loud about it.
It’s dangerous to assume that we know more than a front office that is regarded as one of the more forward thinking in baseball. Nevertheless, even with a healthy amount of self-doubt and a good deal of squinting, this looks like a move that is imperfect at best and panicky at worst. The Bichette signing receives a C-.
Kyle Filipowski
Devin Booker
Brandin Podziemski
