How's the situation at first base looking for the Mets?
Brett Baty stood out at first base during Grapefruit League action this weekend. Also - injury updates on Francisco Lindor, Grae Kessinger
What’s Up with the Mets? 🌴
The Mets walked off the Nationals 4-3 in Port St. Lucie on Sunday (box | highlights)
Clay Holmes started for the Mets, and he allowed a run on four hits over four innings in his final tuneup before the World Baseball Classic
The Mets got solo home runs from Tyrone Taylor and Chris Suero
Yonatan Henriquez singled in the winning run in the ninth inning
Injury Updates 🏥
SS Francisco Lindor (recovery from hand surgery) still has not resumed “impact activities,” but remains confident he will be ready for Opening Day
SS Grae Kessinger suffered a significant hamstring injury, and could require surgery
Roster Moves 🗞️
Optioned RHP Alex Carrillo to Triple-A Syracuse
Re-assigned LHP Anderson Severino and LHP Matt Turner to minor league camp
Just Mets Podcast 🎙️
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Today’s Game 🏝️
The Mets are off on Monday. They play Team Nicaragua on Tuesday afternoon in Port St. Lucie.
Time will tell the Mets new and long story at first base ✍️
The Mets are off to a generally satisfying start to their Spring Training schedule. Not so much because they have a winning record - the games themselves and the outcomes don’t matter at all - but because they have managed to stay generally healthy over the first 10 days of the Grapefruit League slate.
Sure, they’ve probably lost Grae Kessinger from the shortstop mix due to an unfortunate hamstring injury, but that point might be moot if Francisco Lindor is ready by Opening Day or a few days after. So far, the pitching has stayed healthy and is progressing towards Opening Day, and has looked pretty strong in these first few games, which is a very encouraging sign for this club. There have been a few standout performances on the mound, most notably from Tobias Myers who will make the team out of camp in some capacity, according to Mets manager Carlos Mendoza.
There are a couple of bullpen spots up for grabs as well, which is where people like Bryan Hudson and possibly Craig Kimbrel come into play, but aside from that, there aren’t a lot of roster spots up for grabs over the next couple of weeks.
The most obvious opening remains in right field, where Carson Benge, Tyrone Taylor, Mike Tauchman, and Brett Batyare are all actively competing with one another.
But lately, there’s been a lot of talk around Baty and first base, especially after a brief but impressive showing at that position on Saturday. He left an impression with me that has me wondering where he stands as a super utility role player, and what that could mean for both Mark Vientos and Jorge Polanco at first.
Polanco has yet to appear in a Grapefruit League game, but he is set to make his debut this week, presumably at first where he simply needs to see some live action at this point. But it’s pretty obvious Polanco isn’t going to be the everyday first baseman, at least not out of the gate. The Mets have been pretty clear it’s going to be a 50/50 situation for him at first and as the team’s designated hitter, which means the Mets have to figure out who is going to play first base when Polanco isn’t there.
That leaves the door open for both Baty and Vientos.
It’s unclear who is actually the better defensive first baseman, to be fair. Baty was the better third baseman over Vientos by far, but this isn’t a like-for-like transition to a new position here. Baty has at least proven he is adaptable to change, although the Mets haven’t asked Vientos to be the kind of player Baty is. He doesn’t profile the same way as Baty - he was always going to be an offense-first player regardless of where he was on the field or in the lineup, and his regression last year into merely a right-handed designated hitter was concerning to say the least.
But that doesn’t mean Vientos can’t at least be competent at first, and if he is, who plays first when Polanco doesn’t might come down to who is the hot hand, the right matchup on that particular day, or a combination of the two.
If he isn’t competent at first, the Mets better hope Baty is, and if Saturday is any indication, that particular outcome looks pretty promising.
Sure, it was one game at the end of February when the stakes were low. But Baty showed some strong instincts and some good IQ at first base all things considered, that being he hadn’t played first base in a game since high school.
The thing is, something tells me that if the Mets were seeing what they needed to see from Polanco and they were really that confident in his abilities at first base, they’d be projecting more than a 50/50 situation for him at the position. Again, that’s not to say that Polanco won’t eventually be fine at first - he may very well be exactly what they need there over time. But, they’re asking someone who hasn’t even played a full inning at the position and is a career middle infielder to take on a difficult transition at the Major League level, so it’s understandable that Spring Training might not provide the amount of time Polanco needs to get a full grip on first base.
The problem, of course, is what if this doesn’t work? And what if nobody stands out at first base? Then what? That’s the gamble David Stearns took when he went this route of a first baseman by committee and not even considering true Major League insurance at the position.
I actually have the most confidence in Baty over there, believe it or not. I have no real reason for that other than he has shown that adaptability in the past, and as important as it is to have competence at first base, it remains the lowest leverage position on the infield, whereas learning second base or an outfield position is more difficult and requires the athleticism he possesses. The issue with Baty may be more about whether or not his second half last season was an aberration or the beginning of his breakout.
No matter who is at first, the Mets don’t need Gold Glove caliber defense there. It’s not like they had it before with Pete Alonso, and the Mets believe that eventually, their defense at first base will be better with what they have among the players who are not career first basemen than they were with Alonso. Respectfully, that’s a generally low bar these guys have to clear since Alonso was always an offense-first player for the Mets on most days.
For now, though, this is probably going to be a very fluid situation at first base. It’s their biggest positional question on the field, and probably will be well into the summer. Hopefully, they can compile competence among the group they have here, or one stands out over the first three months of the season.
Time will tell their new and long story at first base.
Around the League 🚩
Alex Bregman doubled and hit his first homer of the spring, but the White Sox beat the Cubs 5-1
Alex Verdugo is going to the Padres on a minor league deal (SD Union Tribune)
The Cardinals gave manager Oli Marmol a two-year contract extension (St Louis Post Dispatch)
From the moment he was signed, I saw Polanco splitting his time at 1B, mainly to help keep him in the lineup as he's dealt with knee problems over the past few seasons. That being said, Brett Baty needs to be in the lineup everyday. I was surprised at the Bo Bichette signing, especially after Stearns had said Baty would be the starter 3B. Although Bichette has an opt-out after this season and most likely will use it, I think David Stearns is willing to move Baty and sees Jacob Reimer as the Mets 3B of the future. Bichette's arrival signaled (to me, anyway), that Baty would be packaged for a frontline starting pitcher. That still might happen as I'm not convinced the Tigers won't move Tarik Skubal, before the start of the season and certainly before the trade deadline.
We can't expect perfection from Stearns but I'm wondering what his team saw in Polanco that justified a two year deal for 40M as a first baseman/DH. At this point, looks like they overpaid. Time will tell.