Dombrowski: Phillies losing out on Bichette was 'gut punch'

Philadelphia Phillies president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski is disappointed his team didn't sign infielder Bo Bichette after he felt a deal was about to come to fruition.

"I can't say that we ever thought it was done," Dombrowski told reporters Tuesday, according to The Athletic's Matt Gelb. “We thought we were very close to having a deal done. We thought it was going to happen. But it wasn't done."

Dombrowski added losing Bichette to the division rival New York Mets was "a gut punch," but the Phillies needed to "move forward."

Bichette turned down a seven-year, $200-million deal from the Phillies, MLB.com's Todd Zolecki reported on "The Phillies Show" on Saturday. Instead, Bichette joined the Mets on a three-year, $126-million deal with opt-outs after each of the first two seasons.

"The word 'livid' was used in terms of the reaction to the news that Bo did not end up coming to the Phillies and went to the Mets," Zolecki said.

"It's kind of a 'rug pulled out from under them' situation."

Bichette would have added another potent bat to the Phillies' lineup alongside Bryce Harper, Kyle Schwarber, Trea Turner, and the recently re-signed J.T. Realmuto. The 27-year-old infielder owns a career .806 OPS and ranks seventh in the majors in hits since 2021.

"I do think (Bichette) was sincere about thinking about coming to Philadelphia," Dombrowski said, according to Gelb.

The executive added, "I think what ended up happening is the dollar numbers … we were at the numbers they really asked us to match. We were still going through some nuances, but I think in that last time period, the Mets jumped in full bore ahead. Their short-term offer ended up being so much that they decided to take the short-term offer rather than the long-term offer."

He said he still feels great about the club despite not adding Bichette and doesn't plan to attempt to sign another marquee free agent, according to USA Today's Bob Nightengale.

"We're content where we are," Dombrowski said.