Álvarez does it all, Quintana and Fujinami strong as the Mets beat the Nationals
Plus a look at a Mets regular nobody is talking about
What’s up with the Mets? 🍎
The Mets defeated the Nationals 3-1 on Thursday Night (Box)
Francisco Alvarez crushed his second home run of the spring in the win and threw out three would-be base stealers on the night
Lefty José Quintana started for the Mets and went three strong innings while building his pitch count up to 54
Outfielder Brandon Nimmo collected two of New York’s five hits and Shintaro Fujinami made his long awaited spring debut and fired a perfect seventh inning
MLB announced its Spring Breakout rosters - top Mets prospects will play a team of Nationals top prospects at Clover Park on March 15 at 3:10 PM including Dominic Hamel, Blade Tidwell, Luisangel Acuña, Alex Ramirez, Colin Houch, Kevin Parada, Jett Williams, Ryan Clifford and Drew Gilbert:
Injury Updates 🏥
Jeff McNeil (biceps soreness) still hasn’t been swinging a bat but he is doing defensive drills on the back fields in Port St. Lucie. The Mets have not yet deemed it necessary for McNeil to get an MRI
Joey Lucchesi “is a little behind” schedule although there isn’t a disclosed injury by the team - he is still expected to compete for a spot in the opening day roster
Joey Wendle (shoulder soreness) made his Grapefruit League debut on Thursday night
Today’s Game 🗓️
Match-up: Mets (6-5) @ Marlins (3-5)
Where: Roger Dean Chevrolet Stadium - Jupiter, Florida
Starters: RHP Luis Severino (0-0, 0.00 ERA) vs. RHP Eury Perez (1-0, 2.25 ERA)
When: 6:40 PM EST
Where To Watch: Not televised
The Mets regular nobody is talking about…✍️
The Mets lineup has been discussed ad nauseum leading into the 2024 season, here on Just Mets and every other Mets related platform. New York is cautiously optimistic that its pitching staff will be better and more consistent than it was a year ago. But it’s also not a secret that for this team to win they’ll need their offense to take center stage.
Conversations about the Mets line-up generally begin with Pete Alonso and Francisco Lindor, and soon after pivot to Brandon Nimmo and Jeff McNeil. That quartet is essentially as close to a sure thing as the Mets have on their roster, and the organization feels confident in what they can expect from them.
Beyond that, I feel like most everybody is consistent in their analyzation of the rest of the Mets offense.
Second year catcher Francisco Álvarez is being looked at as a potential breakout superstar. He has light tower power, is incredibly impressive defensively, and seems primed to take a significant leap after a strong rookie campaign. If he can just be a little more even with his ebbs and flows, Álvarez should indeed be primed to emerge among the game’s elite behind the plate.
After being a critical piece of the Mets 101-win team in 2022, outfielder Starling Marte suffered through a miserable 2023 season where he was never fully healthy, and when he was on the field he underperformed dramatically. Marte says he’s 100% this spring, and if he were to rediscover his 2022 form or even be 70 percent of that, it would drastically raise the team’s ceiling.
Then there’s Brett Baty and Mark Vientos who are both entering what feels like make-or-break seasons in their respective careers. The young duo will be handling third base and DH, and while both have consistently put up big minor league numbers, it hasn’t translated to the sport’s highest level. The Mets are really hoping they can both breakout in a big way in 2024, but that very much remains to be seen.
It’s worth mentioning during Thursday night’s game, Baty made a high-IQ play in the batters box by dropping down a bunt the opposite way against the shift.
So we’ve now mentioned eight of New York’s projected regulars, so who’s the ninth?
The Mets signed center fielder Harrison Bader as a free agent in January and I feel like he’s sort of become the forgotten man. His addition stood out as one that fell into the ‘run prevention’ category, as Bader is very much a defense first player. He owns a lifetime slash line of .243/.310/.396 with 159 extra-base hits in 635 career Major League games. But he’s also carved quite a reputation for himself as an elite defender at a premium position. He won a Gold Glove award in 2021 and having him in center field helps the Mets in multiple positions. Notably, it pushed Nimmo to left field, where he’ll be a better defender than anyone New York had out there in 2023.
In addition to plus defense, Bader also adds an element the Mets have sorely missed in recent years. Speed. He stole a career high 20 bases last year, and with the Mets likely deploying him out of the nine spot in the batting order, the hope is he can create RBI opportunities for the top of the line-up.
Regardless of whether that comes to fruition or not, Bader will consistently be in center field if he can just hit enough. New York can get by with him being simply competent with the bat if he’s making highlight reel catches in the outfield.
That mindset going into the season means anything more Bader can contribute offensively would be a bonus. And by that token, he’s yet another player that can significantly raise the ceiling of what the Mets can accomplish in 2024.
Around the League 🚩
The Red Sox signed young righty Brayan Bello to a six year contract extension (USA Today)
Pittsburgh inked veteran lefty Eric Lauer to a minor league agreement (Athletic)
Mariners right-hander Jackson Kowar is being evaluated for an arm injury (Seattle Times)
The Dodgers haven’t yet committed to Gavin Lux at shortstop (ESPN)
Joey Votto - who remains unsigned and is still a free agent - is not yet ready to retire (FOX Sports)