Bichette (foot) remains on bench on Thursday

Bichette could have opted out and tried for more on the open market, but he’ll return to the Mets for a second season instead. The 28-year-old infielder slashed an underwhelming .260/.312/.390 with 18 homers, 78 RBI and a pair of stolen bases in 696 plate appearances in 2026. The expectation is that he’ll once again function as the team’s primary third baseman in 2027.

Sure, why not. Baty will make his third appearance of the season at shortstop during New York’s penultimate regular-season contest with Francisco Lindor taking a turn at DH. The 26-year-old former top prospect Has shown some serious signs of life in recent weeks, hitting .395 (17-for-43) with three homers and 16 RBI since the start of September. He’ll be eligible at four different positions, including third base, first base, second base and outfield, which makes him an interesting late-round target as a bench option in fantasy drafts next spring.

On the bench with the left-hander Cody Bradford starting for the Rangers, Baty came on as a pinch-hitter in the top of the ninth inning with the bases loaded and launched a gargantuan 455 foot grand slam. It was the second longest grand slam hit by any player this season and tied Baty’s longest home run in his career. In a bit of a shocking turn of events, he has a .280/.353/.534 slash line with seven home runs over 118 at-bats in the second half.

Bichette took Cristopher Sanchez deep in the sixth inning for his 17th home run of the season. The 28-year-old also has 76 RBI while slashing .263/.312/.392 in his first season with the Mets. It hasn’t been a tremendous year for Bichette, but he hasn’t been a terrible offseason addition and has taken to third base relatively well. It remains to be seen if he will be with the Mets in 2027 or opt out of his deal.

Baty missed the first two games of the series after exiting Wednesday’s contest with left knee pain. He’s back in there at second base and will bat eighth against Yankees’ ace Cam Schlittler on Sunday afternoon at Yankee Stadium.

Baty remains stapled to New York’s bench for the second straight contest after exiting Wednesday’s game with left knee pain. The 26-year-old former top prospect appears to have avoided serious injury, but it’ll be Jared Young at first base to face Yankees ace Gerrit Cole in this one.

He calls it the “trickiest decision in the free agent class.” Bichette has hit .298/.346/.464 with 11 homers in 85 games since June even if his seasonal stats look a little rough. Passan ultimately guesses he will opt out, but it sounds like staying is still on the table for Bichette.

Baty appeared to tweak his left knee while coming out of the box on an RBI single in the second inning. He was replaced by Christopher Morel at first base. He’ll undergo further evaluation, and possibly an MRI, to determine the severity of the issue.

Bichette is much-maligned, but the third baseman has gone 52-for-181 (.287) since the All-Star break with six home runs, 23 runs scored, and 21 RBI in 46 games. Similarly, he has graded out far better as a defender at third base this season than he was at shortstop over the last two seasons in Toronto.

Bichette’s home run was his 16th of the season. He hit a three-run shot to give the Mets the lead in the bottom of the eighth inning. Bichette has hit two home runs in his last three games. He’s hitting .264 with a .713 OPS and 71 RBI this year.