Mets already working hard with Bo Bichette and Jorge Polanco as they take on new roles

Watching Bo Bichette take grounders at the hot corner this morning in Port St. Lucie, one thing is abundantly clear: the “shortstop-only” era of his career is dead and buried. David Stearns and the New York Mets didn’t drop $126 million on Bichette and another $40 million on Jorge Polanco to play it safe. He’s betting the house that smarts, athleticism, and hard work can mask a total lack of positional familiarity.

New bench coach Kai Correa, with plenty of background on infield coaching, was present in Clover Park on Thursday. His focus was surgical. Correa, who we know was brought in specifically for his defensive “wizardry” with the Giants and Guardians, stopped a drill mid-stream to pull Bichette aside. The conversation wasn’t about the weather; it was likely a granular breakdown of footwork and the “hot corner” internal clock. Bichette looks motivated, but the transition from the middle infield to third base is a mental marathon, not a sprint.

Anthony DiComo also noted that manager Carlos Mendoza was extremely hands-on during infield drills on Thursday morning.

It appears they are seeing things from Bichette and want to correct them early in the spring, giving him time to become more familiar with the hot corner.

The Port St. Lucie Laboratory

Mendoza and Correa are effectively running a high-stakes lab experiment in the Florida sun. Seeing Jorge Polanco—a man with exactly one pitch of MLB experience at first base—scooping throws in a specialized mitt feels surreal.

Polanco’s footwork around the bag might still be in the “clunky” phase. He was seen making some scoops on Thursday.

The nuances of holding runners and choosing when to dive toward the hole aren’t ingrained yet. It’s a massive gamble for a team that publicly preached “run prevention” all winter after letting Pete Alonso walk to Baltimore.

The Counter-Intuitive Reality

The Mets have clearly prioritized strong defense up the middle, with the solid Francisco Alvarez catching and Gold Glove Award winners Francisco Lindor, Marcus Semien, and Luis Robert at shortstop, second base, and center field, respectively.

I’m convinced that having Lindor and Semien up the middle allows the Mets to “cheat” their corner defenders closer to the lines. This mitigates the range issues Bichette might face at third. We aren’t looking at a traditional defense; we are looking at a team-wide shift toward total offensive maximization at the cost of traditional defensive roles.

If the Mets are this serious about improving Bichette and Polanco’s defense at the infield corners, there is a good chance both reach the “usable” status by the time Opening Day comes.