Five questions for the Mets with games set to begin
The Mets have to figure out their rotation, bullpen, defense, and more as they face the Marlins on Saturday
What’s Up with the Mets? 🌴
Beloved voice of the Mets Howie Rose will call only 84 games on the radio this season (Newsday)
The team released their promotions schedule which includes a Bobby Valentine disguise giveaway (MLB.com)
Former Met Juan Lagares formally announced his retirement from baseball (NY Post)
What I’m Reading 🗞️
SS Francisco Lindor is glad Steve Cohen put an end to the captain rumors so everyone can move on from discussing it (MLB.com)
OF Mike Tauchman is in a familiar position of battling a top prospect for a spot on the team which happened to him in 2023 with the Cubs (MLB.com)
RHP Jonah Tong is adding a cutter to his repertoire and he is excited by the challenge (Newsday)
Manager Carlos Mendoza wants the Mets to be aggressive with the ABS system so they will get comfortable with it before the season begins (SNY)
What I’m Watching 🎥
Just Mets Podcast 🎙️
ICYMI: Rich hosted a solo podcast episode to A all of your burning Q’s on Spring Training 🔥
SUBSCRIBE: YouTube | Apple Podcasts | Spotify
Five questions for the Mets as the Grapefruit League schedule is set to begin ✍️
It is that magical time of winter when the sights and sounds of spring return to our screens. The pop of the glove and the crack of the bat are much more accurate indicators that spring is just around the corner than any prediction Punxsutawney Phil can make.
The Mets will begin their Grapefruit League slate tomorrow afternoon at Clover Park against the Marlins after almost two weeks of formal workouts at the team’s complex in Port St. Lucie.
As action begins, there are a few questions that will need to be answered before the season begins.
What will the rotation look like?
Freddy Peralta will unquestionably slot in as the team’s ace with Nolan McLean right behind him, but beyond that, the rest of the rotation is a bit up in the air. Clay Holmes, David Peterson, Sean Manaea, and Kodai Senga are all looking to rebound after shaky seasons, and both Christian Scott and Jonah Tong could push to join the rotation if they have a strong spring, but it is probably a long shot for them. The Mets are liking what they’re seeing from Senga so far, who has already touched 97 mph with his fastball. They’re hopeful Manaea’s woeful 2025 season - which was derailed at this time last year with an oblique injury - is behind him and he resembles that second half of 2024 version of himself. They’re also looking to solve the Peterson puzzle of him being able to put together a complete, consistent season.
Imagn Images Tobias Myers is another option; he is being looked at as a starter right now, and Carlos Mendoza said he will be on the roster out of spring training, but he could also join the bullpen.
How the rotation shakes out and who wins a spot on the team will be one of the more critical decisions the team will have to make before Opening Day. But even with Peralta and the emergence of their top pitching prospects, this is still a difficult part of the roster to project given what happened last year.
Of course, we can bet on some kind of injury situation between now and Opening Day which is now just five weeks away, which will undoubtedly change the calculus of their current plan to start the year.Did David Stearns improve actually the defense?
After last season, Stearns lamented the fact that the team played poor defense, especially in the second half of the year. He made it his mission from the beginning of the off-season to improve the club’s defense, making the phrase, “run prevention” a popular phrase around the Mets over the last four months.
He did bring in more sure-handed players at certain positions, but others were brought in and are learning new positions. Both Bo Bichette (third base) and Jorge Polanco (first base) are switching positions, as is Juan Soto, who is moving to left field this season. Gold Glover Marcus Semien should be a defensive upgrade at second, and Luis Robert Jr. is very good in center.
NY Post So, on paper, their defense up the middle has unquestionably been upgraded and should be excellent, but there are legitimate questions about how Bichette and Polanco specifically will do on the corners, positions which are completely foreign to them. The expectation is Bichette should be fine at third base and actually better there than he was at shortstop, at which he was considered below average.
Hopefully, the transition will be smooth for the players who will need spring training to get a feel for their new positions.Will Carson Benge make the team?
Benge certainly is their most exciting offensive prospect, and he will be given every opportunity to seize a roster spot this spring. Mike Tauchman and Tyrone Taylor are both fourth outfielder options and provide insurance should Benge falter, but their young outfielder will certainly be one to watch this spring.
Imagn Images If Benge’s spring trajectory lands him on the roster, it will be interesting to see what the Mets do with both Brett Baty and Mark Vientos.
Baty has been told to expect to play at multiple positions, but there wouldn’t be a natural fit for him on the roster if the other chips fall as they may. He can indeed play third, second, and somewhere in the outfield, but if he has a good spring and it’s at least linear with his approach from the second half of 2025, maybe the Mets could look to make a deal for him in the coming weeks.
As for Vientos, the Mets are still high on his upside, and there is a place for his skillset as a right-handed designated hitter and a backup option at first base. But that shouldn’t preclude the Mets from entertaining trade ideas for him as he has undoubtedly become marginalized with the acquisitions the Mets have made this winter.Who will play shortstop out of the gate?
Francisco Lindor’s status for Opening Day is in doubt after he underwent surgery on his left hamate bone, which means the team should have a backup plan in case he is not ready. Which they don’t, necessarily, at least not a medium to longer-term option. The one they had - Luisangel Acuña - was traded for Luis Robert Jr., which is fine, but their next best alternative to Lindor is now with the White Sox.
Imagn Images Christian Arroyo, Ronny Mauricio, Vidal Bruján, Jackson Cluff, and Grae Kessinger are the options to fill in for Lindor should he miss any time. Hopefully, they’ll get their star back sooner rather than later, but the team will have to rotate shortstops and see who can adequately fill in for Lindor.
They could, of course, make another external acquisition if Lindor’s status gets cloudier as Opening Day approaches. For them to do that would mean Lindor might need to miss a significant number of regular season games, and as of right now, that’s not in play.How will the bullpen take shape?
The team has quite a few arms in camp and quite a few new faces. Devin Williams and Luke Weaver will shape the new back end of the bullpen, and AJ Minter and Brooks Raley are two returning arms that should solidify what was a volatile bullpen last year, although Minter won’t be activated until May as he continues his progression from lat surgery last May. That probably means LHP Bryan Hudson has a good shot at making the team out of camp, and Luis García is probably a lock for the bullpen as well.
Huascar Brazoban should also make the team, and again, Myers could find himself in the bullpen as well. But RHP Adbert Alzolay, LHP Nate Lavender, and RHP Craig Kimbrel are also intriguing options if they put together a strong spring. They also have hard-throwing RHP Dylan Ross who was with the team in the final days of the 2025 season, and RHPs Austin Warren, Justin Hagenman, Joey Gerber, Alex Carrillo, and Jonathan Pintaro are all 40-man roster options as well.
Game one of Grapefruit League action against the Marlins is just the first step in answering these questions, but how wonderful it is for baseball to be played once again after a long winter?
Play ball! Even if it doesn’t count.
Around the League 🚩
Brewers manager Pat Murphy reworked his current contract which now adds on two more years (ESPN)
Both Guardians pitchers Emmanuel Clase and Luis Ortiz entered not guilty pleas in their in pitch-rigging case (ESPN)
Jazz Chisholm Jr. believes he has the potential to be a 50-50 player if he stays healthy all season long (MLB.com)
The A’s announced Bob Melvin is joining their front office as a special assistant to the front office (official)
If I could I’d place a bet right now that Manaea hits the IL and opts for surgery. I saw clips of him throwing batting practice against Robert and it wasn’t pretty. Robert crushed a 115 470 ft. Bomb off of him and the pitch was a complete non competitive meatball as Manaea is STILL screwing around with his arm angle after we’ve been told he had raised it from last season when he was a sidearemer. Well he was a sidearmer against Robert and the guy hit three balls 110+ off of him. That doesn’t play. I have a sneaking feeling the Mets have seen enough of his “tinkering” with his arm slot and if he can’t get more 3/4 where he is most effective because of those loose bodies they will force him to go under the knife. You can’t put that on the field. I expect this to happen if his spring training keeps going in this direction. Mendy spoke with the media and stressed Robert can be the X factor IF he stays healthy. They are ramping him up slowly and have identified some things he has to work on with his lower half to keep him on the field. This guy has been at Soto’s hip since he got here. If he stays healthy this guy is a monster. We shall see.
I wouldn't call Holmes and Peterson shaky last season.