NEW YORK (AP) — Bo Bichette and the New York Mets finalized their $126 million, three-year contract on Tuesday night.
The sides agreed to terms last week, subject to a successful physical. Bichette spurned the NL East rival Philadelphia Phillies to sign with the Mets and will be introduced by the team Wednesday during a news conference at Citi Field.
A two-time All-Star shortstop with the Toronto Blue Jays, Bichette will move to third base with the Mets, who have Francisco Lindor at shortstop. Bichette has never played a professional game at the hot corner.
“Throughout his career, Bo has distinguished himself as one of the best pure right-handed hitters in baseball," Mets president of baseball operations David Stearns said in a news release announcing the deal.
"He possesses the rare combination of elite bat-to-ball (skills) and power that will impact our lineup. Beyond his on-field skills, Bo has earned the reputation as one of the most intense competitors in our sport. We’re excited to add him to our team and believe he fits our organization very well.”
About two hours later, the busy Mets acquired center fielder Luis Robert Jr. from the Chicago White Sox in a trade for infielder Luisangel Acuña and minor league pitcher Truman Pauley.
Bichette can opt out of his contract after the first or second season to become a free agent again. He would receive $47 million for one year and $89 million for two years.
The deal does not contain any deferred money and Bichette gets a full no-trade provision. His $42 million average annual value ties for the sixth-highest in baseball history.
The additions of Bichette and Robert were the latest big developments in an eventful offseason for the Mets, who angered fans by letting popular slugger Pete Alonso and star closer Edwin Díaz leave in free agency. Stearns also traded two other stalwarts, outfielder Brandon Nimmo and versatile veteran Jeff McNeil — both homegrown players.
New York signed closer Devin Williams to a $51 million, three-year contract, infielder Jorge Polanco to a $40 million, two-year deal and reliever Luke Weaver to a $22 million, two-year agreement.
Although he lacks Alonso’s power, Bichette is a proven hitter with quick hands at the plate. He gives the Mets a potent right-handed bat to help complement lefty slugger Juan Soto.
Because of his inexperience at third, however, Bichette becomes the latest question mark in the field for New York even though Stearns has insisted the team must improve its defense and is determined to do so.
Polanco has one pitch of major league experience at first base, where he and Mark Vientos, previously a third baseman, are the leading candidates to replace Alonso.
Bichette batted .311 with 18 home runs, 94 RBIs and an .840 OPS in 139 games for the Blue Jays last year. He hit a three-run homer off Shohei Ohtani in Game 7 of the World Series against the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Late last season, Bichette sprained his left knee in a Sept. 6 collision with New York Yankees catcher Austin Wells, keeping the infielder out of the lineup until the World Series. He returned for Game 1 against the Dodgers and played second base for the first time in six years.
Bichette led the American League in hits in 2021 and 2022. He finished second in the major leagues in batting average last season to Yankees slugger Aaron Judge.
Bichette turned down a $22,025,000 qualifying offer from the Blue Jays in November, so they will receive an extra draft pick in July after the fourth round.
New York forfeits its second- and fifth-highest draft picks, along with $1 million in 2027 international signing bonus pool allocation.
Bichette, who turns 28 in March, had spent his entire career with the Blue Jays since they selected him in the second round of the 2016 amateur draft. He is a .294 career hitter with 111 home runs and an .806 OPS in 748 major league games.
He is a son of former big league slugger Dante Bichette, a four-time All-Star outfielder.
AP Baseball Writers Ronald Blum and David Brandt and AP Sports Writer Dan Gelston contributed to this report.
AP MLB: https://apnews.com/mlb
FILE - Toronto Blue Jays' Bo Bichette celebrates his three run home run against the Los Angeles Dodgers during the third inning in Game 7 of baseball's World Series, Saturday, Nov. 1, 2025, in Toronto. (AP Photo/Brynn Anderson, File)
MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — Aryna Sabalenka and Coco Gauff, two of the top three women's seeds at the Australian Open, both reached the third round Wednesday.
And the top-seeded man, Carlos Alcaraz, joined them.
Top-seeded Sabalenka defeated Bai Zhouxuan of China 6-3, 6-1 at Rod Laver Arena, and No. 3 Gauff won over left-hander Olga Danilovic 6-2, 6-2 at Margaret Court Arena.
Alcaraz defeated Germany's Yannick Hanfmann in a tough match for the Spaniard, who prevailed 7-6 (4), 6-3, 6-2.
“I knew he (Hanfmann) was going to play great,” Alcaraz said. “I knew his level. We'd played a few times already. But to be honest, it was tougher than I thought.”
“The ball was coming as a bomb — forehand, backhand, so I had to be ready for that,” Alcaraz added of Hanfmann's shot making.
Alcaraz, 22, is trying to win his first title at Melbourne Park to become the youngest man to complete a career Grand Slam.
Sabalenka won the Australian Open in 2023 and 2024 and was the runner-up a year ago against Madison Keys. She is after her fifth Grand Slam title and has two trophies at the U.S. Open.
Gauff has never advanced past the semifinals in Australia and has Grand Slam titles from the French Open and U.S. Open.
Sabalenka raced to a 5-0 lead in the first set but then needed seven set points at Rod Laver Arena to take the set against the defensive-minded Chinese player, who used clever drop shots to help her stay in the match.
Sabalenka will next face Anastasia Popapova, who defeated 28th-seeded and former U.S. Open champion Emma Raducanu 7-6 (3), 6-2.
“I was happy to get this win, a tricky opponent,” Sabalenka said. "She really stepped in in the first set.”
Sabalenka led 4-0 in the second set and overpowered the smaller Bai. Sabalenka even tried a bit of serve-and-volley in the match, trying to diversify her game.
“You saw serve-and-volley today," Sabalenka said. “It didn’t really work well, but I did one.”
Bai was making her second appearance in the Australian Open and reached the second round for the first time.
In another women's match, 12th-seeded Elina Svitolina of Ukraine defeated Linda Klimovicova of Poland 7-5, 6-1. Gael Monfils, a popular 39-year-old Frenchman and Svitolina's husband, said goodbye at Melbourne Park in his retirement year, losing on Tuesday in a first-round match to qualifier Dane Sweeny.
In another women's match, Zeynep Sönmez of Turkey, who was highly praised during her first-round match Sunday for assisting an ill ballkid, advanced to the third round after beating Anna Bondar 6-2, 6-4.
Sönmez played at one of Melbourne Park’s outside courts and the stands were crammed with members of Melbourne’s Turkish community.
“I really appreciated there were many Turkish people, and I felt like I was at home,” she said. “At first I couldn’t even hear my own thoughts. It was very, very loud.”
In men's results, 2021 U.S. Open winner and 11th-seeded Daniil Medvedev beat Quentin Halys 6-7 (9), 6-3, 6-4, 6-2, 13th-seeded Andrey Rublev beat Jaime Faria 6-4, 6-3, 4-6, 7-5 and 19th-seeded Tommy Paul defeated Thiago Agustin Tirante 6-3, 6-4, 6-2.
Coco Gauff of the U.S. falls during her second round match against Olga Danilovic of Serbia at the Australian Open tennis championship in Melbourne, Australia, Wednesday, Jan. 21, 2026. (AP Photo/Asanka Brendon Ratnayake)
Tommy Paul of the U.S. serves to Thiago Agustin Tirante of Argentina during their second round match at the Australian Open tennis championship in Melbourne, Australia, Wednesday, Jan. 21, 2026. (AP Photo/Asanka Brendon Ratnayake)
Zeynep Sonmez of Turkey reacts after defeating Anna Bondar of Hungary in their second round match at the Australian Open tennis championship in Melbourne, Australia, Wednesday, Jan. 21, 2026. (AP Photo/Dar Yasin)
Elina Svitolina, right, of Ukraine is congratulated by Cristina Bucsa, left, of Spain during their first round match at the Australian Open tennis championship in Melbourne, Australia, Sunday, Jan. 18, 2026. (AP Photo/Aaron Favila)
Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus plays a forehand return to Bai Zhuoxuan of China during their second round match at the Australian Open tennis championship in Melbourne, Australia, Wednesday, Jan. 21, 2026. (AP Photo/Dita Alangkara)
Bai Zhuoxuan of China plays a forehand return to Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus during their second round match at the Australian Open tennis championship in Melbourne, Australia, Wednesday, Jan. 21, 2026. (AP Photo/Dita Alangkara)
Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus reacts during her second round match against Bai Zhuoxuan of China at the Australian Open tennis championship in Melbourne, Australia, Wednesday, Jan. 21, 2026. (AP Photo/Dita Alangkara)
