⚾ Mets Futures Bets 2026: Can Bichette’s Bat Make Up for Hot Corner Experiment?

In a world where the Los Angeles Dodgers don't exist, the New York Mets futures bets for 2026 would reflect a team ready to pummel all challengers in the NL.

After a frenzied offseason that included putting Bo Bichette alongside Juan Soto for an imposing slugging combo, New York is primed to bounce back quickly from a disappointing season in which the Mets finished 83-79 while missing the playoffs.

But there's one looming question to answer first: How will Bichette adapt to third base?

🗽 Mets futures bets: What were the key offseason additions?

Before diving into the lingering Bichette question, let's first recall an offseason of tossing cash around, and what lies ahead this spring for the Mets.

The team is optimistic star shortstop Francisco Lindor will be recovered from his hamate bone surgery to be on the field for Opening Day, forming a formidable left side of the infield with Bichette, at least offensively.

Hamate bone injuries can be fickle, and there's the potential for Lindor's power to suffer short-term even if he's healthy enough to play. But the Mets boast more than enough thump to make up for that if needed, despite the departure of Pete Alonso. They also improved an 18th-ranked pitching staff and 15th-ranked bullpen.

Here are the club's key offseason additions.

Bichette, Soto, and new infielder Marcus Semien now combine with Lindor for a terrifying top of the lineup.

Toss in the pitching addition of Freddy Peralta, a rising Nolan McLean (a leading contender in the MLB rookie of the year odds), and plugging in Devin Williams as the closer, and it's easy to see why the best MLB betting sites are viewing the team as a beast in every sense.

Those moves boosted a club that already sat sixth in OPS last year (.753), and fifth in home runs (224), and are in part why our Andrew Brennan is all over the Mets to go past 90.5 victories in the MLB projected win totals. The team's upgrades also make the Mets highly appealing as a bet to win their division.

Mets best bet: To win NL East (+165 via DraftKings)

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🤔 Can Bichette play third base?

Bichette is beyond poor defensively. That's not stunning news to the Mets' front office, even if they won't say the quiet part out loud

The reality is that he's being given $42 million annually as part of his colossal $126-million deal over three years to be a dynamo at the plate with his nearly unmatched bat-to-ball skills.

And although there will be struggles, booted balls, and wayward throws from a putrid defender anywhere and surely while he plays third base for the first time, getting to be alongside a top-tier shortstop in Lindor will ideally ease Bichette's burden on that side of the infield.

Here's to hoping, at least, because the learning curve could resemble move of a sharp hairpin.

Bichette finished with a fielding run value of minus-10 last year, according to Baseball Savant, slotting him 287th out of 299 qualifiers. His range also sat in the bottom 1% leaguewide.

The eye test when he was a shortstop showed a player who was at least within range of balls often enough, but his throws frequently sailed. The remedy for the Blue Jays during the World Series this past fall was to eliminate the need for both elite range and a high-end arm while putting him at second base. He more than held his own at a then also brand new position under the league's brightest spotlight, and did it on one good leg.

The Mets are now taking one of the already subpar aspects of Bichette's defense in his throwing, and asking him to do it from a longer distance across the diamond.

But it'll all be forgotten when Bichette does what he always has at the plate: rake repeatedly.

His defensive woes didn't prevent the Blue Jays from winning the American League last year, with Bichette pushing the team to the playoffs while finishing tied for second MLB-wide with a .311 batting average. He was also second in hits at 181, despite missing significant time to end the season due to a knee injury and playing only 139 games.

A healthy Bichette is capable of hitting in the vicinity of 25 homers too, as he has twice in his career (29 in 2021 and 24 in 2022). Toss in the friendly confines of Citi Field, which is the seventh-best home run park for righties via Ballpark Factors, and there's a strong potential for a power resurgence. That will lead to plenty of fireworks next to Soto.

The caveat is health still, as he hasn't hit the 140-game mark in any of the past three seasons. And there will be plenty of watching his defense through the cracks between your fingers.

Bo Bichette best bet: 190+ hits recorded (+240 via DraftKings)

🚀 Will Nolan McLean win NL Rookie of the Year?

The other element of the Bichette equation is the run suppression that starts on the mound while improving a team that ranked 18th in opponents' batting average last season.

Adding Peralta and his seventh-ranked ERA last year (2.70) will go a long way toward upgrading the Mets' pitching staff. But perhaps the even greater element is the continued ascendence of Nolan McLean and his wizard-like ways. 

McLean needed only eight starts last year to record 57 strikeouts, leading to a K/9 of 10.7. Those punchouts came due to a nearly untouchable curveball that opponents hit .074 against. Add in an also lethal sinker (.193 batting average against), and the strikeouts will pile up again.

His brief stint in the big leagues last year leaves him eligible to win NL Rookie of the Year now, and he's quite rightly among the leading contenders while listed at +500. There are workload concerns though, as prior to 161 2/3 innings last year his high was 109 2/3. Handling a second straight heavy dose of innings could come with challenges. 

But McLean won't need a high innings count to rack up strikeouts if he keeps spinning the ball in absurd ways.

Nolan McLean best bet for 2026: 150+ strikeouts recorded (+165 via DraftKings)

💰 Best Mets predictions for 2026

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