Surging Bo Bichette has become Mets beacon of durability after injury-filled years
CHICAGO — Bo Bichette doesn’t want to jinx it, but he’s among the only Mets regulars who has managed to stay on the field all season.Join Post Sports+ for exciting subscriber-only features, including real-time texting with Mike Puma about the inside buzz on the Mets.
It’s an injury list that has included at various points Juan Soto (twice), Jorge Polanco (twice), Francisco Lindor, Luis Robert Jr., Marcus Semien, Francisco Alvarez and Mark Vientos.The Mets were set to play their 129th game this season Saturday night, and Bichette had appeared in all but one of them.It’s the kind of durability he can cautiously appreciate after missing significant action the previous two seasons.“Part of it is luck, right?” Bichette said before the Mets faced the White Sox at Rate Field.
“I think I did a good job of getting strong this offseason.I didn’t have much of a choice after injuries two years ago and then last year with the knee.
But I think I did a good job to get strong enough to get a whole season.”It probably hasn’t hurt that Bichette, 28, switched to a physically less demanding position at third base after playing shortstop his first seven seasons in the major leagues.Even so, Bichette played shortstop for much of the two-month stretch Lindor was sidelined by a calf strain.But freak injuries often can’t be avoided.
Last season with the Blue Jays, Bichette sustained a knee injury in a home plate collision and missed the final month of the regular season and most of the postseason before returning for the World Series.In 2024, a calf strain limited Bichette to appearing in 81 games.“The key to it is make sure you give it enough time because with the calf just walking puts stress on it,” Bichette said.“That is why it’s the toughest injury to come back from, I think.”The Mets are seeing their best version of Bichette in August.
He entered play with a .947 OPS for the month and on Friday hit his 13th home run of the season.With the su...