JD Martínez is in, good news on Kodai Senga, & a great day for Brett Baty
Meanwhile on the field, they pounded three home runs in a spring rout of the Tigers
What’s up with the Mets? 🍎
The Mets defeated the Tigers 10-5 on Thursday afternoon (Box)
New York made a big late addition to its offense, signing DH J.D. Martinez on Thursday night (Story)
Third baseman Brett Baty homered for the second time in three days - he has made the team as the club’s opening day third baseman (New York Post)
Zack Short crushed a grand slam in the 8th inning, his first homer of the spring
Center fielder Harrison Bader also homered in the win
Righty Dominic Hamel started for the Mets and struggled, allowing four solo homers in three innings
Shintaro Fujinami gave up another run in relief, raising his spring ERA to 12.27
Injury Updates 🏥
Kodai Senga had another MRI on Tuesday that was encouraging, and he should begin throwing within a week (SNY)
Today’s Game 🗓️
Match-Up: Mets (14-10) @ Yankees (11-15)
Where: George M. Steinbrenner Field - Tampa, FL
Starters: TBD vs. RHP Luis Gil (2-0, 2.31 ERA)
When: 1:05 PM EDT
Where To Watch: YES Network
J.D. Martinez dramatically raises the ceiling on the 2024 Mets ✍️
The Mets had long been considered one of the most logical fits for veteran right-handed DH J.D. Martinez, and early Thursday night the club made the move many of its fans had practically been begging for.
New York and Martinez have reportedly agreed to terms on a one-year deal worth $12 million that is structured to defer a significant portion of the money into the future for luxury tax purposes.
His arrival unquestionably makes the Mets offense dramatically better. The 36-year-old has crushed 315 home runs at the Major League level and has more than 1,000 RBI on his resume. He posted an .880 OPS against right-handed pitchers, .925 against left-handed pitchers in 2023. He posted a 1.025 OPS with runners in scoring position, a 1.216 OPS with two outs and runners in scoring position last season.
New York lacked a legitimate run producing option behind Pete Alonso and Francisco Lindor, and his arrival instantly makes the Mets lineup a lot longer, deeper and more dynamic a force.
For a team that internally believes it can be significantly better than outside expectations, Martinez both raises the ceiling of this team and lowers the floor.
I for one am thrilled with the move, but I’d be lying if I said it didn’t leave me a little puzzled.
When the Mets cut bait last summer and traded several of their veteran players, it became clear the team was looking towards the future. Fans generally accepted the fact that 2024 could become a transitional season, and we were not surprised that the team essentially stayed on the sidelines when it came to massive free-agent contracts this winter.
With a loaded free agent class coming next winter, industry speculation is the Mets fully intend to rise from their one winter hiatus with a vengeance.
In the meantime, we’ve heard for weeks about New York’s intention to use this season to really establish what it has in some of its young players—namely Brett Baty and Mark Vientos. Baty has been slated to start every day at third base, while Vientos was expected to be the team’s DH most days. While it cannot be argued Martinez is a massive offensive upgrade and represents much more of a sure thing than either of those guys, I’m still a little confused.
Even with him in the fold, the Mets appear to be behind both Atlanta and Philadelphia in the NL East. Martinez’s arrival would appear to affect Vientos the most, as he’s now lost his starting DH job and could even potentially (and probably should) be headed to Triple-A Syracuse now.
But Baty could lose playing time as well, especially if Vientos stays in the big leagues and starts playing third base against lefties.
My questions about the move are pretty simple. If Martinez coming to Queens doesn’t necessarily push the Mets over the top, then is it really worth it?
Is it worth stunting the development of one of their young players, damaging their confidence, and essentially changing your plan on the fly?
If the objective in 2024 was to learn how many of their young offensive pieces factor into your next core, Martinez coming here does not help there. Especially on a one year deal.
The most logical idea now is for the Mets to send Vientos to Triple-A, hope he rakes, and look to find a trade partner, while also crossing your fingers that Baty establishes himself as a big league third baseman. I realize things can change in a hurry in baseball, but I don’t know that I can remember a team essentially redefining its season agenda this close to opening day.
Now, like I said earlier, as a fan, I love this. I like Martinez, his bat will help enormously, and above all else I want the Mets to win. But objectively, I also have a hard time ignoring some of the chaos and confusion his signing causes. It wouldn’t necessarily be a bad thing if the team was really going for it and had made additional moves as before signing Martínez. This kind of feels like a way to win a handful more games, but not enough to really rewrite the narrative.
It’s always going to be LFGM, but this one really does have me scratching my head a little.
Around The League 🚩
Representatives into the alleged theft of Shohei Ohtani’s money have asked for a probe from law enforcement officials (ESPN)
Keston Hiura did not make the Tigers opening day lineup (Detroit Free Press)
Pirates righty Dauri Moreta had surgery to repair his UCL and will miss all of the 2024 season (MLB)
Colorado acquired utilityman Greg Jones from the Rays (New York Post)
The MLBPA’s internal unrest could lead to a shift in power at the top (ESPN)
Imo the Mets did exactly what they said they would do. They used the whole spring to evaluate Vientos and determined that he isn’t the guy for the job. He had every opportunity to show that he is a major league hitter and he failed to convince team brass. The Mets always have said they expect to be competitive this year and this move is a great step in that direction at a low cost/risk. Vientos may still develop but not at the risk of the big club.