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The first decision of a critical Mets offseason was not their own to make, but it is one that will have significant ripple effects: 

Bo Bichette is returning.

The infielder has decided to opt in to his $42 million player option for next season, The Post confirmed, after a disappointing first season in Queens.

The development was first reported by The Athletic.

Another season with the talented 28-year-old suggests there will be more stability within the Mets’ position-player group, after David Stearns acknowledged that the amount of upheaval previously may have contributed to the disastrous 2026 season.

With Bichette back in the fold, the Mets have a top (and middle) of a lineup that — barring what would be an unexpected, immediate implementation of a salary cap — almost certainly will feature himself, Juan Soto, Francisco Lindor, Carson Benge and A.J. Ewing.

Francisco Alvarez and Luis Torrens figure to return as the catching duo. If the Mets stick with the declining Marcus Semien, who is due $46 million over the next two years, and perhaps platoon him with Brett Baty at second base, the only positions not accounted for would be first base and designated hitter (either of which could belong to Jared Young).

For Bichette, the decision was expected but not a sure thing. In such a weak free agent market, in which the best second/third basemen are Jazz Chisholm Jr., Luis Arráez and Brandon Lowe, perhaps he could have topped the $84 million he would be opting out of, but certainly not approach his current average annual value.

For Bichette, the decision was expected but not a sure thing. In such a weak free agent market, in which the best second/third basemen are Jazz Chisholm Jr., Luis Arráez and Brandon Lowe, perhaps he could have topped the $84 million he would be opting out of, but certainly not approach his current average annual value. 

Last winter, after a strong platform season and excellence in the World Series with the Blue Jays, Bichette — the Mets’ backup plan after missing out on Kyle Tucker — signed a three-year, $126 million pact with player opt-outs after each season.

The expectation was the Mets would pay him plenty in what would be a short-term deal before he could opt out, test the market again and secure the length he sought, but no one was planning on how his 2026 campaign unfolded.

A proven and veteran hitter was among the game’s worst for the first two months, finishing May hitting .219 with a .583 OPS. He bounced back — the rest of the way just about all his numbers improved, including hitting .284 with a .772 OPS from June through September — but the Mets had dug a hole too great for his improved play to matter.

Bichette was not the face of the struggles of the brand-new Mets — that was Jorge Polanco, who barely played and really never played well — but a group that had attempted to replace a core of Pete Alonso, Brandon Nimmo, Edwin Díaz and Jeff McNeil never got going. 

“We and I made a number of decisions that created the potential for almost an uncapped downside scenario,” Stearns said at his end-of-season news conference, which arrived in September and not October. “We had a lot of change. I think change in New York is probably different than change in other markets.”

The Mets undoubtedly hope that the change will be minimized next season when they also will return with manager Andy Green.

Their greatest needs, at least at the moment, are at the top of the rotation and in the bullpen rather than their everyday players. 

Perhaps Bichette — who spent his first seven seasons in Toronto, six of which finished with an OPS greater than .800 before slumping to a .702 mark in his initial year in Queens — will be more comfortable in Year 2.

“The first three months were some of the longest of my career, for sure, a combination of so many different things,” Bichette told The Post’s Mike Puma at the end of the season. “Simply put, my performance and the team’s performance in a new situation. I think I can look at the season and in some ways see it in a positive light and I think the team can as well.

“It was a weird year because I feel positive about this team going forward, and obviously have confidence in myself, so it’s a weird feeling to have that positivity about the team, about myself.”

The Mets claimed infielder Kyren Paris from the Angels and designated outfielder Cristian Pache for assignment.

The Atlanta Braves, who won 94 games, the NL East Division title and the NL Wild Card Series over the Phillies, made the no-brainer decision of all no-brainer decisions today.

The Braves signed Ronald Acuña Jr to a very hometown-friendly contract that allows Atlanta to retain 2023 NL Most Valuable Player. They will pay him 17 million dollars (eh, in theory if all 162 games are played) for the 2027 season. Ozzie Albies signed a much more team-friendly contract. The Braves will pay Ozzie Albies a lockout-pending 7 million dollars.

Some portions of Braves Country were certain Ronald would not be back. I believe most of those don’t watch the regular season games, believe things on social media, or both. But he’s due to make 6 million fewer dollars than MLB qualifying offers. When healthy, he’s amazing. When not healthy, he hears about it. Much the same goes for Ozzie Albies. The Braves have paid him 38 million for 23 WAR over the last 10 years. He did have a career low in wRC+ this season. But it appears they’ll keep the good vibes going one more season. It would probably prove more trouble to replace Albies this season than to keep him, and should serve as the bridge for prospects waiting in Double-A.

The Braves did some bookkeeping as well today as the postseason kicked off. They reinstated Spencer Schwellenbach, Spencer Strider, Hurston Waldrep and Joey Wentz from the 60-day Injured List. Alex Anthopoulos has already told us that we should not expect Spencer Schwellenbach and Spencer Strider to just pick up where they left off. Joey Wentz’s injury is at least a lower body one, blowing out his right ACL fielding a meaningless Spring Training bunt attempt. But hey, at least it’s not his arm (whistles past Joe Jimenez).

Welcome back, Ronnie and Ozzie. Let’s get this silly labor spat decided and watch some dingers, shall we?

Michael King opted out his Padres deal Thursday.

The right-hander declined his player option and will be one of the most coveted arms on the free agent market this winter. Last offseason, King returned to San Diego on a three-year, $75 million deal that included opt-outs after each of the first two seasons.

King is likely seeking a long-team deal and he is poised to receive one after posting a 3.21 ERA with 159 strikeouts across 32 starts (185 innings pitched). He accrued a career-high 4.3 bWAR in 2026, highlighting the ace’s productivity and durability.

The Padres reached the National League Division Series, falling to the eventual World Series champion Brewers. King was a monumental part of San Diego’s postseason run.

In the NLDS, King allowed just one run across 12 innings (two starts) and earned the save in Game 3 when he came out of the bullpen to close out the final two frames.

The right-hander’s love for the Padres was evident after their NLDS elimination, when he said: “San Diego has been incredible for me, and it’s all the way across the country from home. I feel like I have a second home on the West Coast. It’s been awesome.

“And I hope to continue it.”

King’s comments bode well for San Diego’s chances of retaining the ace, but with the right-hander’s impending popularity on the market, a reunion will be costly. For the Padres, King is the most important free agent as his departure would leaving the starting rotation extremely bleak.

San Diego fans will have to see whether new ownership puts their money where their mouth is.

Over the past couple of weeks, the Mariners’ search for a Dan Wilson replacement has heated up. A couple of names with connections to the division-rival Astros, Joe Espada and Jason Kanzler, have been at the forefront of the conversation. With rumors continuing to swirl on Tuesday morning, the LL staff Slack channel discussed their thoughts on the most recent developments. Join the discussion down in the comments! (And keep an eye out for added context in italicized parentheticals like this one -JJ). [Or Ed. notes like this one. -KP]

Grant Bronsdon: Adam Jude makes it sound like it’s just Espada and Kanzler in the mix as the two finalists.

(Grant posted a link to a Seattle Times report from Jude in which Espada and Kanzler are described as the two finalists for the job, having been scheduled for in-person interviews with the team.)

Ryan Blake: I like Espada fine enough.

Ben Thoen: I assume his 54% winning percentages in his two seasons prior to last have been referenced. But yeah, I agree, two division titles in three years, familiarity with our rival, and Spanish-speaking are all major pluses.

Zach Mason: Two AL West titles, though.

ZAM(referencing an excerpt from the report that states the Mariners could still talk to candidates with the Rays or Brewers after the World Series): Oh, shit! That’s Daniel Vogelbach’s music!

(At the time of the discussion, Vogelbach was still over 24 hours from becoming a World Series champion with the Brewers.)

Connor Donovan: I forget who wrote it (Chandler Rome?) but I read a profile on Espada after he was let go and came away thinking that he’d be another Dan re: managing the clubhouse and we all saw how that went this past year. Would just be pretty uninspiring, in my opinion.

[Ed. note: I think this is the piece Connor is referring to; Rome also did some radio hits and podcast appearances talking about Espada after he was let go.]

Evan James: Sure feels like they wanted Baldelli and outside of that they’ll have to settle. Shame, he was the only candidate with the native experience to communicate with Dom Canzone.

Ryan: I think Dan managed the clubhouse well and he shouldn’t have been fired, so Dan 2.0 is good with me, re: Espada.

Connor: I think the hands off approach worked fine in 2025 but this past year with guys playing hurt all the time among other things has convinced me that the team needs someone that can put their foot down a bit. I was also a bit of a Dan apologist but it clearly just wasn’t working. Besides, the minute a reliever gives up a run or a pinch hitter strikes out the usual voices will be screaming “fire Espada/Kanzler.”

Ryan(referencing the handle on Kanzler’s now-private X account): Well it’ll probably be KanzlerThinks in the end.

Evan: Agreed, it’s Kanzler. Younger than me. He also sounds like a Pokemon, which is fun.

John Trupin: Kate, your point about [Nationals manager Blake] Butera that you expanded upon in the blurb is a big question mark here. The Nats seemed to have success with a roster that is super young and had no expectations. That’s not to say Kanzler couldn’t succeed here but it’s a distinct challenge.

Ryan: Every answer I’ve seen him give is a really long nothing-burger. To lead people we need to be people then lead ourselves first. Coding hobbyist is what I used to say when I didn’t know how to code. First meeting he better be asked to speak some Spanish.

Connor:

Kate Preusser: I would read the Athletic profile of Butera linked in the piece. I didn’t know a lot about Butera and I came away pretty impressed and confident in his ability to lead despite his age. It’s a different situation for sure but I don’t think youth is necessarily a problem. I actually think some enthusiastic cringe energy might be good. I also think there’s a chance there’s a secret candidate or two not being leaked but Kramer’s report citing internal sources felt pretty deflating about that.

Ryan: Arthur suggests Espada and Kanzler might both get hired and I don’t hate sticking Kanzler as bench coach assuming we have the vet as manager.

John: Ryan, I’m sorry I think you have explained somewhat but would you mind elucidating your scammer fears comprehensively?

ZAM: We call this management move PIOTS-baiting, and it’s not a tactic we should fall for. [Ed. note 1: “PIOTS” is shorthand for “Put It On The Site” i.e. move these discussions to where people can see them; Ed. note 2: haha.]

Ryan: The few quotes I’ve seen from him have been very long, jargonny, nothingness — he talks like Dipoto. Everything I can find about him screams stereotype millenial ladder climber. I just don’t think the players will respect it. I also think forgetting to scrub socials is a big deal. That’s a massive red flag for a job that’s like 90% image/media management. Maybe he winds up being fine but this is not a good start if it is indeed the Kanzler era.

Connor: It’s one thing if his posting was like, racist or problematic in other ways but it just seemed kinda cringe more than anything. Which yeah, it’s easy to poke fun at but ultimately it doesn’t matter if he’s cringe or not; what matters is that the players buy in. Which, to be fair, is no guarantee.

Kate: I think after Wilson being an energy vortex I am ready for the opposite, even if that energy is cringe millennial-hustle culture, that at least is a vision? And I could see a room full of very Baseball Player Dudes buying into that. That being said, I am writing up some under-the-radar candidates and I want Billy Boyer in this organization like yesterday.

Ryan: That is a fair take, Kate. I don’t know, I could see them laughing in his face or being like “whoa finally my people.”

Isabelle Minasian: Let the record show I am 100% with Ryan on Kanzler who, among other things, seems like a guy who has had raw milk at least once.

ZAM: I know it’s inarticulate to discuss vibes and point to expertise rather than arguing, but I have spent 14 years as a consumer protection lawyer, and Kanzler just really tingles my grifter Spidey sense. But that doesn’t mean it’s not what will work for the players whose jerseys we buy.

ZAM: But I am also just very dispirited that our two choices are both Astros people.

Isabelle: Is he not just younger Gabe Kapler?

Isabelle(linking a 2015 piece on Kanzler by the Democrat and Chronicle, a daily newspaper in Rochester, N.Y.): The only glimmer of positivity I’ve felt towards Kanzler (and it’s still not much).

“At Buffalo, Kanzler became best friends and roommates with catcher Tom Murphy, now a prospect with the Colorado Rockies. Murphy and Kanzler became favorites of Buffalo coach Ron Torgalski.”

The discussion ended on a high note with Isabelle pointing out Kanzler’s connection to Murphy, the now-former Mariner. So, LL community, give us your thoughts! Are you satisfied with the Mariners’ managerial finalists? Do you prefer one to the other? Let us know in the comments below!