Bo Bichette won’t participate in this year’s World Baseball Classic after all, according to a recent report from ESPN Brazil.

The former Toronto Blue Jays cornerstone and newly signed New York Mets star was slated to represent Team Brazil at the 2026 best-on-best tournament, but has reportedly told the country’s coaching staff that he no longer plans to play in the event.

Bichette’s father, Dante, was born in the United States, while his mother, Mariana, is originally from Brazil. Both he and his brother, Dante Jr., played together for Team Brazil during the 2017 WBC qualifiers and were previously set to be reunited on this year’s team.

The 27-year-old Bichette, who inked a three-year, $126 million deal with the Mets earlier this month, missed the remainder of last season and the first two rounds of the post-season due to a left knee sprain. But he returned during the World Series, delivering a pivotal three-run home run off Los Angeles Dodgers two-way star Shohei Ohtani in Game 7, albeit while moving from shortstop to second base.

As the two-time All-Star begins the next chapter of his career — after spending nearly a decade with the Blue Jays organization — he’ll be learning a new position this spring in his first season with the Mets, who plan to move the middle infielder to third base — a position he’s never played professionally.

Thus, between last year’s injury and learning a new position, New York’s brass likely preferred to have Bichette remain in camp throughout the entire spring rather than missing multiple weeks of training to represent his mother’s home country.

Brazil will face a difficult challenge in Group B, especially now that the country’s best hitter has pulled out of the tournament. They’ll be tasked with competing against the United States, Mexico, Italy and Great Britain in the round-robin stage, creating a massive uphill battle.