The Philadelphia Phillies were making a very strong push to sign Bo Bichette to a long-term free-agent deal this offseason. They made headway and even got a deal with Bichette on the finish line.
But Bichette decided to sign with the New York Mets instead on a shorter, higher AAV deal than what the Phillies offered.
In response to that decision from Bichette, according to Todd Zolecki on The Phillies Show podcast, the Phillies front office was "livid" that Bichette didn't come to the Phillies.
Phillies were 'livid' that Bo Bichette turned down Phillies for Mets
"Now the question is, did his agent say 'we have a deal,' virtual handshake, or was it a 'hey, if you meet this price, we're going to get there.'" Zolecki said. "The word livid was used in terms of the reaction to the news that Bo did not end up coming to the Phillies and went to the Mets."
Seeing Bichette not choose to come to the Phillies, and instead go with the Mets, despite the Phillies having a strong seven-year, $200 million offer on the table, did not sit well with the Phillies.
This situation isn't one where the Phillies didn't try hard to bring Bichette in, and the fanbase should direct their frustration towards Dave Dombrowski and company.
They made a serious effort to sign Bichette, and the former Toronto Blue Jays shortstop turned down the reasonable deal to join the Mets instead.
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Jim Salisbury, on the same podcast, also pointed to the sense inside the Phillies organization about Bichette's deal. He revealed that the Phillies were confident they could sign Bichette and that the news of the Mets deal was massively disappointing.
"I sense legit, real confidence that the Phillies thought they were in a good place and were going to bring this thing home," Salisbury said. "There's great disappointment within the front office."
Philadelphia's front office isn't exactly happy with Bichette's free-agent decision, and in turn, the Phillies fanbase likely isn't too pleased with Bichette either.
When he next comes to Philadelphia, Bichette will receive a cascade of boo's from the fans, just like how the front office was livid over losing Bichette, the Phillies fan base is just as frustrated.
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