Mets' Bo Bichette Decision Has Major Roster Implications

The Mets are shifting Bo Bichette back to his natural position on Friday, which could be an indicator for their roster plans.

Mar 5, 2026; West Palm Beach, Florida, USA; New York Mets third baseman Bo Bichette (19) defends his position against the Washington Nationals during the first inning at CACTI Park of the Palm Beaches. Mandatory Credit: Sam Navarro-Imagn Images | Sam Navarro-Imagn Images

When the New York Mets signed Bo Bichette during the winter, their plan was to shift him from shortstop to third base.

However, it appears the team wants to keep Bichette acclimated at his old position as a contingency plan. In a recent report by Joel Sherman of the New York Post, the Mets will deploy the infielder at shortstop for Friday's spring training game against the St. Louis Cardinals.

https://t.co/lS19iUwhv9 Bo Bichette is scheduled to play shortstop Friday against the Cardinals, The Post has learned. It is to keep familiar with the position in case the roster does not carry a traditional backup SS to Lindor.

— Joel Sherman (@Joelsherman1) March 19, 2026

Throughout spring training, the Mets were steadfast in their plan to fully acclimate the 28-year-old at the hot corner. At the same time, they denied having intentions of moving Bichette back to shortstop, even when regular starter Francisco Lindor underwent surgery on a broken hamate bone in his left hand. Lindor is still expected to be ready in time for Opening Day on March 26, especially after seeing in-game action over the past week.

Nonetheless, it appears that New York is open to having Bichette as the emergency shortstop in case Lindor isn't available for a game. According to Sherman, manager Carlos Mendoza spoke to Bichette about playing shortstop for a game to keep him familiar with the position.

This will be the only game this spring where Bichette starts at shortstop.

How Bichette's Presence Affects the Mets' Roster Decisions

With Bichette presumably being the emergency shortstop now, the Mets will have a roster spot open for another position. That extra spot will likely be an additional outfielder due to the ongoing competition between top prospect Carson Benge and veteran Mike Tauchman for the starting right field job.

Both outfielders have impressed in camp, but Benge appears to be the favorite simply because of how much runway he's been given and how high the Mets are on him. At the same time, Tauchman can opt out of his minor league contract on March 25, which he will almost certainly do if he isn't assigned to the Opening Day roster. By having Bichette as the backup shortstop, the Mets can keep both Benge and Tauchman.

The Mets RF job is down to two people:

Carson Benge
Mike Tauchman
pic.twitter.com/U01NfnyOjW

— SleeperMets (@SleeperMets) March 15, 2026

On the flip side, this allows New York to leave shortstop prospect Ronny Mauricio off the roster; they ultimately assigned him to the Triple-A Syracuse Mets on Thursday, per Mets On SI. Mauricio had been productive this spring by hitting .313 with a .920 OPS in 32 at-bats, but he still has minor league options remaining for the Mets to utilize.

Mets have optioned Ronny Mauricio and Joey Gerber to Triple-A

Mike Baumann and Brandon Waddell have been reassigned to Minor League camp

— Pat Ragazzo (@ragazzoreport) March 19, 2026

The Mets will almost certainly leave Vidal Brujan, another candidate for the backup shortstop role, off the big league roster as well. Brujan is playing on a split contract that pays him $850,000 as a major leaguer and $500,000 as a minor leaguer, so it would be cheaper to store him in Triple-A Syracuse instead of just leaving him on the bench.

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