It is third and wrong.

Bo Bichette and the Mets are not alone. Nearly every team spending significantly on third base is receiving a horrendous return on investment. It has turned the position into the cold corner.

Through the weekend, major league third basemen collectively had produced a 95 wRC+, which would be the lowest since 2011. The slugging percentage of a position long known for power was .374, the lowest since 1972. The OPS was .690, also the lowest since 1972 — that was the year, by the way, when the Mets’ primary third baseman was Jim Fregosi after arguably the most ill-fated trade in their history, his acquisition from the Angels for Nolan Ryan.

And this might not be a blip. In the past 50 seasons, the three lowest OPS marks for MLB third basemen en masse were .705 in 2025, .701 in 2024 and .690 so far this year.