The Philadelphia Phillies were in hot pursuit of Bo Bichette this offseason, and late on Thursday night, after Kyle Tucker signed with the Los Angeles Dodgers, the Phillies felt confident.
They had agreed, in principle, to Bichette's contract demands of $200 million over seven years. The deal was on the doorstep of completion. But Bichette instead went to the New York Mets, blindsiding the Phillies.
According to Scott Lauber of The Philadelphia Inquirer, the Phillies weren't given a chance to negotiate further with Bichette, as the former Toronto Blue Jays shortstop blindsided the Phillies with his acceptance of the Mets' $126 million contract offer.
Phillies blindsided by Bo Bichette amid negotiations
"Most Phillies officials found out about it like the public did - through reports in the media," Lauber writes. "Bichette didn't give the Phillies the chance to outbid New York."
Bichette, after getting the Phillies to agree to his $200 million contract demand on Thursday night, turned around and instead went with the Mets' offer of $126 million on Friday morning.
It was a stunning turn of events from the Phillies perspective, especially since they went to sleep confident he'd choose the Phillies in free agency.
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Not only did he turn the Phillies down, but he also didn't give them a chance to negotiate further before accepting the Mets' deal.
Even though the Phillies likely wouldn't have beaten the Mets' $126 million offer over three years with opt-outs after years one and two, the Phillies weren't given that courtesy.
It was a brutal turn of events for the Phillies, and the loss of Bichette to the Mets of all teams makes this offseason a tough one to come to terms with.
The Phillies were blindsided by Bichette's decision to join the Mets, as they didn't have a chance to negotiate further, and found out about the deal like everyone else.
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