It's about to get real for the 2026 Mets
Plus, thoughts on Carson Benge, and the glue that needs to stick for the Mets pitching staff
What’s Up with the Mets? 🌴
Mets manager Carlos Mendoza believes MJ Melendez has more to offer the Mets offensively, and the club really likes his versatility for the outfield, first base, and as an emergency catcher (Watch)
Mendoza said Jonah Tong working on a cutter and slider to help better compliment his fastball/change-up and learning when to use those pitches
Ronny Mauricio’s playing time will be a determining factor on whether he makes the team, but he’s going to get an opportunity in camp to earn a roster spot
Mets owner Steve Cohen said the Mets were not willing to give Pete Alonso a five-year contract, and he was perplexed by the outcome with Edwin Díaz (Watch)
What I’m Reading 📰
C Francisco Álvarez is viewed as someone who can emerge as one of the best catchers in baseball (Newsday)
RHP Christian Scott is healthy and has developed some new pitches for his arsenal (Newsday)
LHP Sean Manaea isn’t running away from his disappointing season in 2025 (NY Post)
🌴 SPRING TRAINING IS HERE! 🌴
Mets pitchers and catchers are now officially in camp. The full squad’s first workout is on Monday, February 16th.
Can Carson Benge make the Mets? 🎥
Just Mets Podcast 🎙️
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The Mets story for 2026 is only just beginning after a crazy off-season ✍️
The first week of Spring Training, when it’s just (officially) pitchers and catchers, is baseball’s version of Christmas and a reboot of sorts on life in our frozen world in New York. We see the sun and the breeze hitting the palm trees in Florida, hear those baseballs hitting those gloves, the first cracks of the bats, and the stories about how things are going to be different this time with new players, incumbent players coming back in even better shape, and broken players from the year before in the best shape of their lives.
But on Monday, all players will officially be in camp, be in full uniform, and lay the entire foundation for all of the hope and promise everyone is bringing to Port St. Lucie for another unquestionably fascinating season of Mets baseball that lies ahead for this franchise in its 65th season.
The phrase of the winter has been “running it back,” and while it can certainly be argued the Yankees have run it back from 2025 after their 94-win season (even though they continue to insist they aren’t doing that), Mets President of Baseball Operations said from the beginning of the off-season he had no intention of running back the same disappointing 83-win and playoff-less team which had been nothing but volatile with fan-favorite players for years in 2026.
And he didn’t, for sure. The team that shows up on Monday in its entirety will represent an completely different brand of Mets baseball, that which is better at making contact, stronger defensively up the middle in particular, but that which comes with just as many, if not more questions than the team that finished merely one win short of making a playoff tournament that now includes 40 percent of the league’s teams.
As I’ve said before, the Mets are different. I don’t know if they’re better or projected to be better than they were a year ago at this time, but the way they’re different in that they’re arguably more athletic, they’re better defensively in the ways they weren’t particularly good a year ago, and the offense is now designed to be less slump-prone with their contact-centric identity. How that will translate on the field when those personalities come together remains to be seen, but even without Pete Alonso, Edwin Díaz, Jeff McNeil, and Brandon Nimmo, who we can all agree were hard to say goodbye to, the brand of baseball the Mets are trying to play now resembles that of the modern playoff team, and a successful one at that.
I also think that’s one of the reasons the Mets really like Carson Benge for the Opening Day roster as well. He’s been a contact-guy in the minors, he doesn’t strike out a lot, and he’s in the top percentile in hard-hit rate as well. I am sure they’d like to see him improve upon his patience and chase rates, but that just comes with the territory for a young player. The Mets will be looking for Benge to not only perform, but for that maturity to present itself as well before they take him north. That’s the kind of player who would slot in very well into a lineup which is now rich with contact.
Now, I don’t think it’s a slam dunk for Benge to make the team out of camp. After all, he doesn’t have a lot of professional experience and in a small sample at least, he struggled over 100 plate appearances after his promotion to Triple-A last season. But, the Mets have maintained their position about being able to create runways for their prospects to be in the big leagues and not block them with older and more expensive veterans all the time, and that runway is there for him to take off from. He will have to compete with Brett Baty, MJ Melendez, Jared Young, Ji Hwan Bae, and Cristian Pache for that outfield spot, but he has to be a favorite on this date.
As for Baty, the Mets are now viewing him as a utility guy and not necessarily stuck at one position. He can be a left-handed designated hitter with Mark Vientos serving as the right-handed option. He can spell Bo Bichette at third base, Marcus Semien at second base, Juan Soto in left field, and of course should be in the mix in right field. Stearns said he assured there were still plenty of at-bats available to him when they signed Bichette. He certainly earned his keep - for now anyway - after putting together his best stretch as a big leaguer in the second half of 2025, but I am sure the Mets will want to see a continuation of that ascent into 2026 after what has mostly been three concerning seasons for him to start his career.
But none of this will matter if the pitching staff doesn’t do its thing this season. Yes, they have a lot of depth, and that depth is different today than it was a year ago if for no other reason than it has younger arms with higher ceilings contained within it. Freddy Peralta at the top of the rotation certainly changes things, and the emergence of Nolan McLean as a future ace helps a lot too. And certainly, a healthy Kodai Senga and Sean Manaea would go a long way towards restoring the credibility it all lost over the course of the 2025 season. But all of that plus sustainability from David Peterson and Clay Holmes have to stay glued, again, and stay healthy, again, and that’s a lot of IFs which need to break right.
Of course, that doesn’t even include the bullpen.
But, it’s Spring Training. It’s time to be hopeful. We all know the team as constructed today is not going to be the same one at the finish line 7 1/2 months from now. We know there will be surprises, both good and bad. But all of that is a part of the story of a 162-game season in baseball.
That story begins right now, even though it feels like we are already in chapter five of the 2026 season after that wild ride during the off-season.
Around the League 🚩
The Diamondbacks re-signed RHP Zac Gallen to a one-year, $22 million contract with deferred money (MLB.com)
The Royals signed veteran LHP John Means to a minor league contract (official)
The Brewers signed INF Luis Renigfo to a one-year, $3.5 million deal (MLB.com)
The Cubs signed RHP Shelby Miller to a two-year, $2.5 million contract (FanSided)
RHP Emmanuel Clase allegedly participated in pitch rigging during playoff games (Athletic)
I like where we are. This team is constructed to compete every day rather than blow hot and cold.
Don't get me wrong: it was an absolute blast when Pete would go on a tear and the rest of the lineup would suddenly hit. And I personally think he's going to crush it in Baltimore. It's a good fit for him.
But full disclosure: I like the idea of winning a crap ton of one-run games over the course of the year rather than winning by five or losing by five and counting on winning streaks to overcome the losing streaks. It's my brand of baseball.
In the Baty discussion, there's some problems. If he's mostly going to get at bats at DH, you're wasting his above-average defense. If you say he'll get some more at bats when Semien or Bichette take a day off, that's fine except I'd think they wouldn't want to sit Bichette very often. Speaking of days off, can someone tell me who the backup first baseman is going to be? Has Stearns had anything more to say about Baty in the outfield? Last time he spoke on it, it was left field. Now that Soto's moving over, does Baty have the arm for right? Is Baty going to work out at both right field and first base? So...kind've messy.