Bichette 'enjoying the new challenge' of learning third base for Mets
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Saturday was a day of firsts for Bo Bichette. The most significant, of course, was his debut in a Mets uniform during a 2-1 loss to the Marlins in the club’s Grapefruit League opener at Clover Park in Port St. Lucie, Fla. But he also had a first at third -- third base, that is.
Bichette made his debut at the hot corner on Saturday after playing almost exclusively at shortstop during his seven-year Major League career.
“There’s a lot of stuff I can learn in the game, which is really important,” Bichette said afterward. “I’m enjoying the new challenge.”
Bichette, who joined the Mets on a three-year, $126 million contract this past offseason, will be the club’s everyday third baseman with Francisco Lindor at short and Marcus Semien -- who was acquired in a trade that sent Brandon Nimmo to Texas -- at second.
While he went 0-for-2 at the plate, Bichette got two chances in the field -- the first was a routine play, catching a popup off the bat of Heriberto Hernández in the second inning, and the other was a more difficult play in the fourth.
That play involved a ground ball behind the bag by Miami’s Connor Norby. Bichette backed up to get the big hop, gloved it and made a quick exchange and throw to first. The throw was up the line and first baseman Jose Rojas tried to make the catch with a stretch while keeping his foot on the bag, but he was unable to reel it in.
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Mets manager Carlos Mendoza said that it’s all part of the process of Bichette finding his bearings at a new position.
“He took a good angle there,” Mendoza said. “He created a long hop, which is the right play. … We have to stay on top of him.”
One of the foundational skills that Bichette will need to master is positioning at third. Mendoza said Bichette was in continual communication with the coaching staff about his positioning during Saturday’s game.
On that subject, Bichette said he’s “experimenting.”
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“The deeper you play, the more range you have,” he said. “It depends on the situation of the game and who’s hitting. I think you see a lot of the great third basemen in our game playing as deep as they can, so I’ll be figuring out what that means for me.”
In the end, it’s about reps, and Bichette is ready to get in as many as he can before Opening Day.
“I’m learning a new position, getting comfortable with a new team, so the more the better,” he said. “I’ll be ready to suit up whenever they let me out there.”