And, we're back!

Mets pitchers and catchers are officially reporting to Port St. Lucie today - all that's left is to see what these Mets got

What’s up with the Mets? 🍎

• Mets pitchers and catchers are officially reporting to Port St. Lucie today - the first official workout for pitchers and catchers will be Wednesday, during which fans can attend on the back fields

• The Mets signed OF MJ Melendez to a one-year, $1.5 million contract with $500,000 in additional incentives (NY Post)

• Former Met Terrance Gore passed away this weekend at the age of 34

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What I’m Watching 📺

• RHP Freddy Peralta threw his first live batting practice session in Port St. Lucie on Saturday, and said it all went very well (SNY | Watch)

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🌴 2 days until the 1st official workout for Mets pitchers & catchers in Port St. Lucie… 🌴

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Let’s see what they’ve got! ✍️

AP Photo

The Super Bowl has concluded, which means we have reached the unofficial start of baseball season. With that, all Mets pitchers and catchers are officially reporting to Port St. Lucie this morning, while some are already there, pitching and catching, as you know.

The well has pretty much run dry on the free agent market, so barring any trades or down-roster moves the Mets have up their sleeve, this is pretty much it for the hot stove in these parts. The Mets and every club will soon start to move players to the 60-day injured list, that which will include Reed Garrett and Tylor Megill, which will free up 40-man roster spots and create opportunities for some of the non-roster invitees, such as Craig Kimbrel, who the Mets recently brought into camp on a minor league deal as a non-roster invite.

If anyone had told me at the beginning of the off-season the Mets would’ve undergone such a dramatic and downright volatile change to their roster profile, I would’ve laughed, and I was definitely not laughing at the end of game-162 4 1/2 months ago.

Sure, I knew changes were coming. And yes, I knew there might be some difficult and unpopular decisions in order to improve the team. But I think it’s safe to say that everyone— both internally and externally— went through the gamut of emotions and thoughts as the off-season progressed through its peaks and valleys.

I am the first to admit that in December, I wasn’t sure if the Mets were even planning to be a contender or not in 2026.

But here we are, as I happily stand corrected, with the Mets taking on a new shape and form from how they identified as a baseball team in 2025. It’s still unclear if the Mets are actually better than they were last year, but as I said last week, they’re definitely different, and they at least resemble the kind of team that ends up making a deep October run in this day and age, albeit with its flaws and uncertainty considering they don’t know how people like Bo Bichette and Jorge Polanco will do at their new positions.

Every step the Mets took to strip the roster in the first half of the winter— minus the Edwin Díaz thing— was calculated and measured even while they took risks of not being able to replace those parts. Sure, the Mets did that and seemingly sat idle for weeks afterwards, but they always had three tricks up their sleeves as they pursued new players in free agency and trade.

First, the markets were idle in late December and into early January, so it’s not as if the train had left the yard on them. Second, they will always hold a financial advantage over everyone, perhaps excluding the Dodgers, who always seem to pull rabbits out of their hat with team-friendly free agent acquisitions and lopsided trades. Third, they have one of the best farm systems in the sport, which gave them a kind of additional currency few teams can match, not to mention their ability to take on money in those trades. They didn’t need to take on additional money, of course, but they had the ability to do what David Stearns referred to early on as “need-for-need” trades, which typically require teams to at least make net-neutral financial moves in the process.

And that need, at least in the Brandon Nimmo/Marcus Semien deal, was to improve their defense up the middle, albeit at the expense of some offense in that roster spot. One can certainly argue that was a two-part trade, with the sequel being the acquisition of Luis Robert Jr. for Luisangel Acuña a couple of weeks ago, further strengthening their defensive posture up the middle and in centerfield, specifically if he’s paired with Tyrone Taylor, who will likely be in center field as well as left field under ideal circumstances.

Again, that’s a very calculated, step-by-step process the Mets took to get better in one of the two main areas they were seen as needing to improve upon this winter. There’s no question those two new players up the middle come with an expensive risk as far as their offense is concerned—Robert and Semien will combine to earn $46 million in 2026. But the Mets are clearly paying them to provide Gold Glove-caliber defense, and whatever they give the Mets at the plate will be gravy.

I can live with that, especially with what they’ve built with the acquisitions of Polanco and Bichette to combine with both Juan Soto and Francisco Lindor at the top of the order. They’ve transformed the identity of their lineup to be less lefty and more contact-centric, which will hopefully limit the volatility the offense has experienced over the last few years, which was often all-or-nothing.

Is it sustainable? Well, it’s hard to predict that regardless of the design if there are so many likely short-timers on the roster. But this is clearly how Stearns and the front office want to do business going forward, as it gives them the ability to pivot quickly if something doesn’t work without being locked down by too many albatross contracts on their books (see the Phillies for that example).

Will it work? I don’t know. Again, they’re different, but unproven. It remains to be seen if the glue sticks and how long they take to come together.

For now, let’s just enjoy the fact baseball is back while the vast majority of us look outside at the frozen tundra. It’s hard to believe with this weather that Opening Day is about six weeks away. But I am glad it’s almost back, again. Here’s to the Mets staying as healthy as possible between now and Opening Day.

Let’s see what this club is all about. Starting now.

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Around the League 🚩

• The Yankees are bringing back 1B Paul Goldschmidt on a one-year, $4 million deal (NY Post)

• The Marlins will wear teal retro jerseys for home games on Sundays (official)

• Mark McGwire is joining the A’s front office as a special assistant (ESPN)