Bo Bichette spurning the Phillies for the NL East rival New York Mets was akin to a gut punch for the NL East champions. A two-time All-Star shortstop with the Toronto Blue Jays, Bichette agreed last week with the Mets to a $126 million,

Watch live right now from Citi Field as the Mets introduce new infielder Bo Bichette in a news conference. The Mets signed Bichette to a three-year deal, which the club announced Tuesday. The agreement includes player options for 2027 and 2028 and,

The Phillies gave Bichette the offer he wanted: seven years, $200 million. But the Mets swooped in with a shorter-term, higher-salary offer. “It’s a gut punch,” Dave Dombrowski said.

Philadelphia Phillies president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski admitted to feeling the sting after he was unable to land two-time All-Star shortstop Bo Bichette in free agency. Bichette turned down a seven-year,

There was a brief time last week when the Phillies believed Bo Bichette was coming to Philadelphia -- and J.T. Realmuto was headed elsewhere. So, just how close was all of that to happening? "Well, I can't say that we ever thought it was done,

One of the other conversations was with Dave Dombrowski, who talked about Realmuto, but also about the team’s pursuit of Bo Bichette in free agency. He made several quotes that were noteworthy in their behind the scenes look at how the team went about courting the shortstop:

The Phillies were willing to rearrange their roster in a significant way to accommodate Bichette. It was so close to happening that Dombrowski called Realmuto’s agent, Matt Ricatto at CAA Sports, to tell him the Phillies were going in a different direction.

After seven seasons with the Blue Jays, Bichette signed a three-year, $126-million (U.S.) contract with the New York Mets.