ANGRY MIKE: METS SIGN BO BICHETTE: "ALL WARFARE IS BASED ON DECEPTION..."

ANGRY MIKE

After months of non-splashy moves and high-profile departures, Mets fans finally got to witness the acquisition of the marquee talent they’ve been waiting for, when the Mets signed Bo Bichette to a lucrative 3-year | $126 Million dollar contract. Bichette is arguably one of the best all-around hitters in baseball, an elite contact-hitter, legit power to all fields, and one of the best situational hitters in the game. Mets Nation was glued to every type of screen, all-day last Thursday, expecting that marquee acquisition to be Kyle Tucker. Unfortunately, after an auspiciously cryptic tweet by Steve Cohen, Mets fans received the heart-breaking news of Tucker agreeing to terms with the Dodgers. 

 

The Media didn’t hesitate to run with the narrative of the Mets being the culprit of a monumental blunder for missing out on Tucker.

What if it wasn’t a colossal blunder and entirely by design, starting with the prior acquisitions, the ridiculous $50 Million AAV offer to Tucker, and even the carefully time cryptic tweet? 

 

“ALL WARFARE IS BASED ON DECEPTION…”  

~ SUN TZU

Transformational change is disruptive because it causes fear, is often met with resistance, and creates feelings of uncertainty among employees or (fans), but that is what it was going to take for the Mets to quickly pivot from a tough 2025 season. We’ve seen elements of transformational change being implemented throughout the Mets off-season and if you spend any time on social media, fear and uncertainty is the bedrock of the sentiment exhibited by Mets fans daily. Fear and uncertainty are the bedrock of the sentiment exhibited by Mets fans, prior to the Mets signing Bichette.

It was clear from the start Cohen and David Stearns had a plan from the start, but it was only after the Mets signed Bichette did it become more apparent to fans and the media, who assumed the series of moves they had seen signaled the Mets might be treating 2026 as more of a rebuilding year. Will Sammon of The Athletic confirmed the Mets started dialogue with Bichette in November, which tells me he was the top priority all along and it was important their interest be kept a closely guarded secret. It’s fair to ask, how Bichette was the top priority if they waited until the middle of January? 

Step One:   Vayos con dios Pete…

 

Pete Alonso exercised the opt-out in his contract as soon as the Mets lost their final game of the season in Miami. The Mets maintained dialogue with Alonso, but Cohen made it perfectly clear last winter, he was never offering a six- or seven-year contract offer to Alonso ever again. Without a long-term offer from the Mets, Alonso signed with the Orioles.

Step Two:  Acquiring Marcus Semien -> Bichette’s Close Friend…

 

The first significant move by the Mets made and arguably the most controversial, trading Brandon Nimmo to the Rangers for Marcus Semien. It was widely criticized because the Mets have a lot of players already on the MLB roster capable of playing second base, as well as multiple top prospects who could also potentially play second base. Semien is also coming off multiple down years and wasn’t exactly a hot commodity on the trade market.

 

Step Three:  Acquiring Jorge Polanco

 

”The whole secret lies in confusing the enemy, so that he cannot fathom our real intent."

 ~  SUN TZU

Analyzing the Polanco deal after the Bichette signing shows the Mets potentially had two primary motives for acquiring Polanco, first and foremost, provide insurance in the event our younger players can’t continue progressing in their development. If the Mets truly wanted to convince the Dodgers they had minimal interest in Bichette, signing Polanco was the perfect “bluff” acquisition to throw them off the scent, as the likelihood of the Mets investing considerable resources to a acquire third infielder must’ve seemed like sabotage.

 

“The distance between insanity & genius is measured only by success…”

~ IAN FLEMING

 

Like I always tell my Father when I need an argument to stop, “I may be dumb, but I’m not stupid.” Look, I might be dumb or naive enough to think all these moves were connected, and the Mets took a proactive approach this off-season to execute a plan of attack and did not take the reactive approach many in the media claim. I’m certainly not stupid enough to believe there is evidence to prove the Mets would ever undertake such an audacious and risky strategy, nor would they ever admit this was their approach, effectively ruining their ability to execute anything as diabolical ever again in the future.

I’m an analyst by trade, my specialty is looking for “breadcrumbs” or data points that enable me to accurately forecast an asset’s future value or build an argument to destroy an asset’s current value, for the purpose of acquiring an investment below market value. Hedge Funds commonly deploy strategies such misinformation or deception for the purpose of manipulating their rivals' assessment of a potential investments. That is a “breadcrumb", which makes it hard for me to believe everything that transpired was a random series of events. Tactics such as these don't happen every day, but they are common enough, savvy Hedge Fund Managers operate with a vicious level of skepticism when they find themselves competing for the same potential investment. 

Something Andrew Friedman and the Dodgers never once considered, when they signed Kyle Tucker to an annual average salary worth almost double what Aaron Judge is being paid.

Steve Cohen is a Hedge Fund guy, and like I’ve been saying all winter, if the Mets are too quickly rebound from the tough 2025 season, Cohen was going to have to activate “Sith Lord Mode” and utilize tactics he might have felt were too harsh to use outside of the Hedge Fund industry. Unfortunately, we will never know the truth, but Mets fans can take comfort in knowing the leader Mets Nation is no longer playing games.

“Sith Lord Mode” has been activated…