The Philadelphia Phillies were dealt some brutal news when Bo Bichette, despite having a strong offer from the Phillies on the table, turned them down to sign with the New York Mets.
It was an unfortunate turn of events for the Phillies, as they no longer had aviable pivot option this winter, and instead turned to re-signing J.T. Realmuto to a three-year, $45 million deal.
After the fact, according to USA Today's Bob Nightengale, Dave Dombrowski revealed his thoughts on missing on Bichette to the Mets, calling the situation a "gut-punch."
Phillies were 'gut-punched' amid losing Bichette to Mets
"I did think we were going to get a deal done," Dombrowski said. "We were close... It was a gut punch.... But until you have a signed memo of understanding, you don't have a deal."
The Phillies just barely missed out on Bichette, as late Thursday night, a deal with the Phillies was looking likely.
But after the Mets lost out on Kyle Tucker, they turned to Bichette, offering him a ridiculous $126 million, three-year deal with opt-outs after the first and second seasons.
The Phillies' offer was a reported $200 million deal over seven years, but unlike the Mets' offer, there weren't any opt-outs in the deal for Bichette.
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Bichette is taking the Mets' offer for better short-term value and high upside. Alex Bregman did something similar, and it worked great.
While Bichette needs to have a strong 2026 to make such a short-term deal worth it, even if he struggles, he has another $42 million waiting for him in 2027.
It's not a surprise he took the Mets deal over the Phillies, but it doesn't make it any less of a gut-punch for the Phillies and Dombrowski.
Now, they aren't planning to make any more big additions this winter. The roster is mostly set, and the next moves will likely be depth additions and subtractions.
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