Jose Quintana gets the opening day nod, starting pitching shines again in Mets win
Plus, the good, bad and ugly of Mets camp with two weeks to go to Opening Day
What’s up with the Mets? 🍎
The Mets defeated the Astros 6-5 in Port St. Lucie on Wednesday (box)
Luis Severino started for the Mets and gave them four very strong innings, allowing a run on two hits with three strikeouts
The club got strong showings out of the bullpen from Jake Diekman, Jorge López, Drew Smith, and Shintaro Fujinami, each of whom threw a scoreless inning with nine strikeouts between them
Mark Vientos hit his third homer of the spring while Joey Wendle went 2-for-2 to raise his spring average to .375
José Quintana will start opening day for the Mets against the Brewers on March 28 at Citi Field
Edwin Díaz is returning to New York to be with his wife for the birth of their child
Injury Updates 🏥
Kodai Senga (shoulder strain) is making progress strengthening his shoulder, but might not throw for an additional week
Brett Baty was scratched from Wednesday’s lineup with minor back soreness, he is listed as day-to-day and is expected to return to the lineup this week
Rumor Mill 🤫
The Mets are still waiting for JD Martinez’s price to drop, and they still prefer to avoid blocking an opportunity for Mark Vientos at DH. JD Davis’ versatility ability to play third base along with his minimal cost has helped maintained their interest in the former Met (SNY)
Today’s Game 🗓️
Match-up: Mets (9-8) @ Cardinals (7-8)
Where: Roger Dean Chevrolet Stadium — Jupiter, FL
Starters: RHP José Buttó (1-0, 1.50 ERA) vs. RHP Lance Lynn (0-0, 18.00 ERA)
When: 1:05 PM EDT
Where To Watch: MLB.tv
Notes: The good, the bad, and the ugly with two weeks to go to opening day… ✍️
It’s hard to believe camp has been open for about a month. This spring has flown by for me personally.
For the Mets, it’s been a generally promising camp for their pitchers specifically, although it’s still going to be a while before Kodai Senga makes his season debut. Shoulders are dicey and unpredictable, and while the Mets insist Senga hasn’t experienced a setback, in the end we are at about the three week mark in his rehab process, which was the target date for him to begin throwing and, well, he’s not going to begin throwing.
Still, the club seems to be remaining positive about Senga. But again, these things are very much a “how is it feeling today?” kind of thing and the Mets are going to have to be extra judicious with him whenever he does return.
There have been some other concerns of course, but I’ll get into that in my notes today…
The Good
The standout feature for the Mets so far this spring has been their pitching, headlined by Tylor Megill. Their staff in total has allowed 44 earned runs in their first 17 games, and Megill himself has led that charge, allowing only two runs in 12 spring innings with 15 strikeouts against two walks during that span.
Normally, I don’t like to read too much into spring stats, but this is an important camp for Megill. As I wrote last week, this is make-or-break time for him in his career, and he has unquestionably dedicated himself to getting better with multiple mechanical adjustments over the years as well as the development of his new splitter, which the Mets have termed as, “elite.”
Now, that’s not to say he’s going to go pitch to a 1.50 ERA during the season. He’s not facing complete big league lineups, he isn’t pitching into the stressful part of the game, and this is spring training with smaller crowds and less pressurized situations. All we can say right now is things are looking up with Megill and that splitter, but the test is coming - he is about to be stretched out into the middle innings and he will be challenged with adjusting off that splitter and maintaining his stamina in the process.
Then there’s Luis Severino who put together a strong performance last night to continue his string of quality this spring. He has now compiled nine innings over three starts with one run and five hits with eight strikeouts and no walks. He’s also healthy (knock on wood), throwing hard and at least looking like the Severino the Yankees once had.
Can he maintain it? Can he stay healthy? History is working against Severino in that department.
Then there are the runner ups: José Quintana, and Adrian Houser, both of whom have had good camps in their own right but I think Severino and Megill get my medals.
For now, anyway.
The Bad
I’m never one to say spring performance mean anything. Even though I love what Megill and Severino have been doing early on, it’s just spring training. They still have a 0-0 record on the year.
However, I think there’s some relevance when it comes to players coming off season-derailing injuries, such as Starling Marte.
In his case, we all know what happened last year as he struggled to recover from core muscle surgery the previous winter. But while he’s 100 percent healthy now and the Mets are noting his exit velocities are fine (he hit a ball 398 feet at 108 mph the other day), in the end, the 35-year-old Marte is just 2-for-22 so far this spring.
Again, it’s spring training and I do believe there is merit to the process over the results this time of year. So I don’t want to make too much of this. But the Mets need this dude in so many ways in 2024, even if it’s not to the level he produced in 2022. I am very much looking forward to the next couple of weeks, which I think is super important for Marte to turn some of that tough luck expected outcomes into actual outcomes.
The Ugly
Those damn uniforms. I mean, seriously.
The lettering looks ridiculous, the numbers on the front look like someone taped them on, and the jerseys themselves look papery. And if they actually take the field with those see-through pants on March 28, that would just be embarrassing for baseball.
Look - I do think the modified lettering works for some teams. But not here with the Mets.
And yes, it does matter. The logos and the colors and the way the players look are the brand for the product, which are the actual players themselves.
Just get it right for crying out loud. This is stupid.
Around The League 🚩
The White Sox traded coveted RHP Dylan Cease to the Padres (MLB.com)
Yankee ace Gerrit Cole will miss at least 1-2 months after injuring his elbow, and while initial reports on his MRI suggest no UCL tear, he is visiting with noted Tommy John specialist Dr. Neal ElAttrache in Los Angeles this week (New York Post)
Aaron Judge will return to the Yankee lineup on Saturday after experiencing ab soreness (MLB.com)
Brewers closer Devin Williams will miss three months with several fractures in his back (ESPN)
Lucas Giolito had an internal brace procedure performed on his elbow, avoiding full Tommy John Surgery which should help accelerate his recovery (ESPN)