The Mets are introducing Bo Bichette, a ‘special range’ of new interior looks

NEW YORK – The Mets’ transformative season, which has lasted nearly three months and shaken fans and increased pressure on decision makers seeking the franchise’s first championship in four decades, continued with the introduction of Bo Bichette at Citi Field on Wednesday, a little more than 12 hours after the club acquired Chicago shortstop Luis Robert Whiter.

Bichette confirmed that the plan is for him to play third base, a position he said he last played in high school travel football. He spent his seven major league seasons as a shortstop for the Toronto Blue Jays.

“I’m excited about the challenge,” said Bichette, who signed a three-year, $126 million contract with opt-outs after the first and second seasons. “It’s like anything else: It’s going to take work to be successful at something, and I’m willing to put in that work and we’ll go after it.”

With Bichette, one of the best hitters in baseball, riding his age-28 season, the Mets will have an outfield with shortstop Francisco Lindor and three former shortstops around him – Bichette, Marcus Semien (second base) and Jorge Polanco (first base). Polanco, who signed a two-year, $40 million contract in December, also hasn’t played the position he’s expected to play this season.

Mets president of baseball David Stearns, who emphasized that the priority this offseason is to improve his club’s defense, said that having four shortstops in the infield will give them “a very different advantage.”

“I think there will be learning curves,” Stearns said. “I’m not trying to dismiss that at all. I think for both Jorge and Bo there’s going to be a learning curve. I think a lot of that learning curve is going to be where it’s going to be in certain games. In fact, some things may not be completely obvious. We’re probably going to make a mistake or two, but we’re also going to have an elite variety that’s very exciting on the field.

In acquiring Robert, the Mets avoided giving away a top prospect by agreeing to absorb the entire center fielder’s $20 million salary in 2026. Instead he sent infielder Luisangel Acuna and minor league right-hander Truman Pauley to the White Sox.

Injuries and inconsistency have plagued the talented Robert, 28, over the past two years; he has combined to hit .223 with 28 home runs, a .660 OPS and 1.9 fWAR in that span. But Robert is also two years removed from a breakout All-Star season in which he slashed .264/.315/.542 with 38 home runs and 20 steals in 145 games.

It’s a gamble the Mets, with the backing of billionaire owner Steve Cohen, decided they could afford.

“I think the first step is to do everything we can to help Luis stay on the field,” said Stearns. “This is a very talented player. All the fundamental skills and tools are there — the same skills and tools that were there when he had his monster season a couple of years ago so that’s really encouraging and that’s what drew us to him. And now we have to put him in a place where he’s comfortable, where he’s supported. Sometimes just a little bit of a change in position helps.”

The Mets went down the route of adding only Robert and Bichette after outfielder Kyle Tucker chose to sign with the Los Angeles Dodgers over them last week. The next day, the Mets reached out to Bichette, who was close to agreeing a long-term contract with the Philadelphia Phillies.

The team also on Wednesday signed veteran reliever Luis Garcia to what sources told ESPN’s Alden Gonzalez a one-year, $1.75 million contract.

The addition is part of a dramatic turnaround that resulted in the Mets falling short of the playoffs on the final day of the regular season. It started with the firing of several members of the coaching staff and continued with four of the franchise’s longest-tenured players — Brandon Nimmo, Pete Alonso, Edwin Diaz, and Jeff McNeil — going to new teams.

“It’s just different,” Mets manager Carlos Mendoza said. “Very different. Obviously, a lot of actions. If you would have asked me this question as soon as we were finished, I didn’t know which way we would go. It’s just the way everything happens. But I’m happy where we are as an organization. I like the composition of our team. So, yes, I think it’s difficult to explain.”