Bo Bichette has a $42 million decision to make with the Mets this winter. His first year away from the Blue Jays didn't make it an easy one.

His deal was reported as three years and $126 million when he left Toronto last offseason. The fine print tells a different story.

It works like three one-year contracts stacked together, with a player option after each season. Every winter, he gets to choose between next year's salary and another run at the market.

A monster 2026 would have made this simple. He'd be gone, chasing an even bigger contract.

Instead, he turned in a so-so season. With a potential lockout looming, guaranteed money suddenly looks a lot more appealing than a gamble on free agency.

He opened up about the year in a Monday story with the New York Post. "The first three months were some of the longest of my career for sure," he said.

Bichette's love for New York cools any Toronto reunion talk

He pinned the rough start on "a combination of so many different things," mostly his own performance and the team's in a new situation.

But the tone shifted when he talked about home. "My wife loves living there," he said, calling it "a comfortable situation for us."

He also leaned into the pressure. Winning in New York, he said, "is probably the peak of sports," and he has even more respect for that now.

That sounds like a player talking himself into staying, and he should. Taking the guaranteed money after a down year is the smart business call, and it isn't close.

Opting out after a so-so season is like listing your house the week after the basement floods. You can do it, but you won't love the offers.

So what about the Toronto dream? Some fans wondered whether he could ever come back, but nothing in his comments points north.

The Jays have moved on in the middle infield anyway. Andrés Giménez is the regular shortstop, and the club has that position signed through at least 2029.

The glove numbers don't scream for a reunion, either. Bichette and George Springer posted the Jays' worst Fielding Run Value marks among players with 1,000-plus innings from 2024 through 2026.

He said he feels positive about the Mets going forward. The option decision will reveal whether that feeling is worth more to him than one more shot at the open market.