Losing Bo Bichette to Mets was ‘intestine punch’ for Phillies…
It’s not how issues have been supposed to Bo.
Phillies president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski believed the club was shut to touchdown All-Star infielder Bo Bichette on a reported seven-year, $200 million deal — before he spurned Philadelphia for a shorter-term contract with NL East rival Mets.
“I can’t say that we ever thought it was done,” Dombrowski told reporters Tuesday as the club made its three-year, $45 million deal with J.T. Realmuto official. “We thought we have been very shut to having a deal performed. We thought it was going to occur, however it wasn’t performed. There’s a distinction between the two.
The Phillies believed they have been on the verge of signing Bichette. John E. Sokolowski-Imagn Images
“As I’ve explained to some other people, it’s a situation where in baseball, and agents run things differently between themselves, they do things in different ways. Until you sign a memo of understanding, you don’t have a deal done. We did not sign one of those.”
Philadelphia media reported the entrance workplace was “livid” after Bichette agreed to a three-year, $126 million cope with New York, which features a increased common annual worth and a number of opt-outs.
Dombrowski candidly called the development a “gut punch” to the group, while noting that Kyle Tucker’s free company — which ended with him signing with the Dodgers for $240 million after negotiations with the Mets — might have shifted the market.
The Post’s entrance cowl after Bo Bichette agreed to a cope with the Mets.
“The [Kyle] Tucker signing played into it, I believe, the timing of it,” Dombrowski said. “Organizations that are sensible and the Mets and Dodgers are sensible. I don’t know [if] Tucker had gone to the Mets instead of the Dodgers that Dodgers wouldn’t have jumped into [Bichette] at the last second.
“I could be wrong, but I do think [Bichette] was sincere about coming to Philadelphia. I think what ended up happening was the dollar numbers … we were at the numbers they really asked to match and to pay. We were going through some nuances but I think in that time period the Mets jumped in … it ended up being so much they ended up taking the short-term offer rather than the long-term offer.”
The team rapidly pivoted to reuniting with the soon-to-be 35-year-old catcher Realmuto, who admitted that the failed Bichette pursuit put his future with the Phillies unsure.
Phillies president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski. USA TODAY Sports through Reuters Con
“Yeah, towards the end, there was a short time where, it’s no secret, the Phillies had other opportunities,” Realmuto said Tuesday. “Myself as well, I was looking at other teams, there at the end, it got a little stressful where we thought there was a chance we wouldn’t be back. It wasn’t ideal for us, we made it pretty clear we wanted to be with the Phillies from the start.”
Dombrowski added that Philadelphia communicated with Realmuto’s camp about presumably signing Bichette since including each gamers was unlikely “at that moment in time.”
The three-time All-Star has been a staple behind the plate for the Phillies since 2019.
He’s coming off a down offensive season, slashing .257/.315/.384 with 12 residence runs and 52 RBIs (94 wRC) in 134 games – all profession lows since 2016, excluding the COVID-shortened 2020 season.
Dombrowski famous that the team still expects to half methods with two-time All-Star outfielder Nick Castellanos, however despite the curiosity in Bichette, he doesn’t anticipate any high-profile free company acquisitions.
The Phillies re-signed slugger Kyle Schwarber this offseason, as well as to buying outfielder Adolis Garcia and reliever Brad Keller.
“I think we’re content where we are at this point,” Dombrowski said.
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