Bo Bichette slump makes Blue Jays look smart

That angle is getting louder because the Mets did not make a small bet. They gave Bichette a 3-year, $126 million deal, then heard boos before the first weekend was even over.

The ugly part is how fast it happened. Bichette opened the year 1-for-14 with 8 strikeouts, and the crowd at Citi Field let him hear it as the at-bats kept getting thinner.

Bichette did not duck it. He called his own at-bats “terrible,” which at least showed some honesty, but it also underlined how rough the first impression has been in Queens.

The slump did not stop once the Mets left home. In a 3-0 loss to St. Louis on April 1, Bichette went 0-for-3 as New York managed only 3 hits all night.

That is where the Blue Jays angle comes into focus. Toronto knew what the market would look like for a rebound bat with name value, and it chose not to be the club paying for the next contract.

The Mets did not just sign Bichette to hit. They moved him to third base, which added another layer of adjustment and another place for fans to nitpick every shaky inning in the field.

That matters because Mendoza is already defending him in public. He called Bichette a “total pro” after the boos, which is what a manager says when he knows the noise has arrived early.

Toronto does not have to carry that weight now. The Blue Jays kept their books cleaner, avoided a long bet on a player coming off volatility, and let another big-market fan base absorb the first wave of frustration.

None of this means Bichette cannot recover. He has done too much damage over his career for anyone to write him off in the first week of April.

But the point of this story is not whether he can still hit. It is that the Mets paid premium money for instant impact, and right now they are getting tension, boos, and a lineup spot that is not producing enough.

That is why Blue Jays fans watching from a distance can feel pretty good about how this played out. Toronto let the emotion go, let the bidding climb, and so far it is New York wearing the heat.

If Bichette heats up, the story changes fast. For now, the early returns say the Blue Jays read the risk better than the Mets did.

While the season did just begin, Blue Jays decision is looking very good as of right now.