Bo Bichette's Slow Start is Hurting Mets' Offense

Entering play on Saturday, Bichette has homered only once with nine RBI in 84 at-bats. He's also struck out 22 times and is slashing a meager .226/.267/.298. He's on pace to hit only eight home runs with 73 RBI. The eight home runs would be a career-low for a full season, and the 73 RBI would tie a career-low.

Bichette has generally been solid in April, with 17 home runs, 67 RBI in 137 games in the month throughout his career. The potential good news for the Mets is that Bichette is hitting .274 in April after starting 2-for-22 with eight strikeouts in five games in March. The biggest issue is that his power is down, with only four extra base hits in the first 20 games.

Defensively, Bichette has held his own at third base, after playing his entire MLB career at shortstop. He has committed only two errors in 43 chances. While never considered a stellar defensive player, Bichette might not be a huge liability as many had feared.

Bichette hasn't been the only player in the Mets' lineup struggling. Francisco Lindor has been dreadful, posting a slash line of .200/.297/.313 with only a single RBI coming on his lone home run, over 80 at bats. Catcher Francisco Alvarez, who hit a career high 25 home runs in 2023, leads the Mets in home runs with four. No other player has hit more than two home runs.

Perhaps the pitching staff could keep the Mets afloat until the offense comes around, however, the team is 11th in the NL and 20th in all of MLB with a 4.21 ERA. They have only five quality starts in 20 games, meaning the starting pitchers either aren't going at least six innings, and when they do, haven't been effective.

The team will need the entire offense to pick up the slack. The good news is that it's still only April, but the Mets are already six games behind the Atlanta Braves, who have the second-best record in the league, at 13-7. I would expect Bichette, who could be feeling the pressure of the big contract in The Big Apple, Francisco Lindor, and company to get the Mets' offense back on track sooner rather than later.

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