According to ESPN Brazil, New York Mets infielder Bo Bichette will no longer play for Team Brazil at the 2026 World Baseball Classic.
Bichette left the Toronto Blue Jays and signed a three-year, $126 million contract with the Mets. He planned on playing in the international tournament with his brother, Dante Bichette Jr. Dante was a first-round pick by the Yankees in 2011.
Brazil will be making its second appearance in the WBC after debuting in 2013. Bichette would have been the only player on the roster with Major League experience.
Looking toward spring training
Pitchers and catchers report for the Mets in 15 days, with position players to follow shortly thereafter. Bichette has agreed to make a position switch from shortstop to third base.
“He’s an athlete,” Mets manager Carlos Mendoza told the New York Post's Jon Heyman and Joel Sherman. “We’re looking at a guy that has played shortstop pretty much his whole career. And just watching him today, moving around third base, taking ground balls, creating angles and then the throws to first base, I was telling him, ‘It looks like you played there before.’”
Bichette's defensive grades at shortstop were not pretty during his seven seasons with the Blue Jays. He had minus-13 outs above average in the field in 2025.
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