Bo Bichette's first big Mets moment may finally quiet his Blue Jays regrets

This might have been the turning point Bo Bichette was waiting for. Tied 7-7 in the bottom of the eighth inning at Citi Field, Bichette stepped up to the plate with the base loaded and two outs against Minnesota Twins reliever Anthony Banda. On an 0-1 pitch, Bichette smacked a hanging breaking ball to left-centre field that touched the top of the wall and cashed in three runs. The Mets would hold that 10-7 lead and turn it into a 10-8 win, their second in a row after dropping 12 straight games.

Mets manager Carlos Mendoza knew it meant a lot to Bo to come through in that at-bat. "I think he’s been looking for that moment, especially here at home, Meaningful for him to do it in front of our fan base.”

Bichette is playing in front of a new home fan base for the first time in his career. Leaving the Toronto Blue Jays, who drafted and developed him, Bichette left the team during this past offseason, electing the greener pastures of a three-year, $126 million deal that the Mets threw at him. With that much cash flowing his way, Bichette was quickly becoming a lightning rod for the ire of Mets fans who were getting pretty fed up with the way the season started.

Bichette's slow start may now be in the rearview mirror

Bichette in particular hadn't been helping his case. He was mired in a season long slump slashing .217/.235/.283 with one homer run in the first 22 games. But over his last three contest, Bichette has reached base safely in all of them, and no one on the team, perhaps, needed to come through in a big spot more than he did.

"The desire to help a new team and the desire to just perform at the level you know you can perform at -- I don’t know if any of that was weighing on me, but I definitely still need to get better,” Bichette said to reporters after the game. “I’ll make adjustments and get to the player I need to be.”

His 3-for-5 night at the plate, with a three RBIs and a stolen base certainly helps in that aspect. It could be a turning point and has all the signs of him finally bursting through and leaving behind any regrets he may have had in ditching the Blue Jays. Bichette became known in Toronto for being a consistently good hitter, leading the league in hits twice, while also providing a decent amount of slug at his position.

But not only is he learning how to play in a new environment altogether, he's also adapting to a new position, and third base has been a mixed bag for him to start the year. He developed a reputation for being a sub-par defender at shortstop but the Blue Jays stuck with him there. Now with the Mets, he's been worth 1.2 defensive fWAR with a +1 Outs Above Average rating.

Everything comes down to timing in baseball and for Bichette it looks like the time is now right for him to become that star everyone thought he could be with the Mets.

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