Bizarre Bo Bichette-Alex Rodriguez comp is ridiculous for one obvious reason

Bo Bichette was one of the top free agents on the market this past winter. There was no denying that offensively, he was going to be an upgrade for whatever team that signed him. The problem was, his market wasn't as big as originally projected, mostly due to the fact that not many teams wanted to sign him to play shortstop, the position he has played since he debuted in the major leagues in 2019 with the Toronto Blue Jays.

But that's what makes this new comparison so ridiculous to anyone who has been following Bichette's situation throughout the winter. The comp now is that Bo is just like Alex Rodriguez and he is "graciously" moving aside on a new team to let the incumbent star keep his position.

Bizarre Bo Bichette-Alex Rodriguez comp is ridiculous for one obvious reason

From a surface level, sure, this situation is similar because A-Rod had played shortstop for his entire career until the trade that sent him from the Texas Rangers to the New York Yankees and once he got to his new team, Rodriguez then became a third baseman so that Derek Jeter could continue as the shortstop of the Yankees.

But there is a big difference here in the fact that Bichette isn't moving to third so that Francisco Lindor can stay as the Mets shortstop for sentimental reasons. Bichette is moving to third because nobody wanted him to play shortstop based on his defensive efficiencies.

Joel Sherman of the New York Post brought up this comparison. Sherman said, "A-Rod said this and Bichette agreed with him. That moving because the guy who is there is a great player makes this easier. Francisco Lindor, who is on a Hall of Fame arc as well (similar to Jeter) and Bichette said 'yes the move is easier when you're doing it for a star player.'"

Sherman added, "Bichette said that all the ego about playing shortstop went out of the window when I played second base in the World Series."

There is a lot to break down in these quotes that just makes your head spin. Let's start with the fact that Bo didn't get to the Mets under the assumption that he would ever be the starting shortstop. Bo got there because the Mets owner, Steve Cohen, was mad when Kyle Tucker decided to sign with the LA Dodgers instead of going to Queens. So as a pivot they threw an absurd amount of money at Bo (three-years, $126 million with opt-outs) to make sure they got at least one marquee guy this winter.

Early in the offseason, when Bichette's market had barely picked up, the former Blue Jay expressed a "willingness to change positions" in order to get a deal done. That brings us to the second quote about the ego being put aside. Yes, Bichette bravely returned to the lineup after sustaining what looked like it could have been a season ending injury, and in his return he hit .348/.444/.478 in the seven game World Series, including one massive home run in Game 7.

But it was also in that Game 7 where Bichette may have cost the Blue Jays a run early in the game when he could only run station to station and was stranded at third in the bottom of the second. It was also during his absence that Andrés Giménez had firmly established himself as much more capable defender at short, and the Blue Jays lineup was clicking through those first two rounds of the postseason. So, while he says he put the ego aside to play second base in the World Series, it was also the only spot that he could realistically play at that time regardless.

While some fans may be hurt by Bo's decision to join the Mets, others have moved on and wish him the best and hope he has a long and healthy career. But regardless of what side of this line any fan falls on, most can agree that Bo's joining the Mets to play third base wasn't born out of some respect to step aside and "let Lindor stay at short," Bo simply followed the money over to the hot corner.