Mets finish camp with a bang, head to Houston
Plus, some thoughts on the final bullpen spot, Starling Marte and whether Alexander Canario fits or not
What’s up with the Mets? 🌴
The Mets drew a 6-6 tie against the Yankees in their final spring game in Port St. Lucie (Box | Highlights)
Brandon Nimmo hit a game-tying, three-run home run in the ninth inning
Brett Baty and Pete Alonso also homered
The Mets used nine pitchers to get through their final spring game - Ryne Stanek started and walked two over 0.2 IP, AJ Minter allowed a run in his inning, Danny Young allowed an unearned run, Max Kranick had a dominant frame, and Huascar Brazobán was also strong in a scoreless inning of work
The Mets drew 106,027 fans to Clover Park this spring, a new record
Injury Updates 🏥
INF Ronny Mauricio (recovery from 2023 ACL surgery) will remain in Port St. Lucie as part of his ramp up, start his season with Single-A St. Lucie, and join Triple-A Syracuse when he is deemed ready
Stories from Port St. Lucie… 📰
Juan Soto expects the worst reception when the Mets play at Yankee Stadium this year (NY Post)
A Q&A with Brandon Nimmo (Newsday)
The biggest X-factors for the Mets in 2025 (Daily News)
Today’s Game 🗓️
The Mets are off Tuesday and Wednesday. They open the 2025 regular season with a three-game series against the Astros beginning on Thursday in Houston, 4:10 PM ET.
Thoughts on the Mets bullpen decisions, Starling Marte, and the right-handed bat they’re seeking… ✍️
Typically, the last game of spring training is filled with teams making their best effort to break camp as fast as possible. A lot of early count swinging, a lot of early count outs, and a fast-paced game so both teams can catch flights to their first destination (or, in the Yankees case, home) of the season.
Such was not the case for the Mets and Yankees on Monday. The game lasted nearly three hours. Neither team pitched particularly well overall, and there was a lot of offense, especially at the end when Brandon Nimmo capped a strong finish to his spring with a game-tying, three-run home run to get the game to 6-6, which is where it would end.
The Mets drew five ties this spring. It’s meaningless and generally unimportant, although it’s interesting trivially (not really).
There were some notables to come out of Monday’s agonizing game for the Mets, of course.
First off, AJ Minter thinks he’s going to be fine for Opening Day after he threw for the second time in three days. He said afterwards, barring any unexpected soreness, he should be good to go.
That means the Mets will have to decide which of Huascar Brazobán or Max Kranick they’re going to carry on the Opening Day roster. It won’t be both if Minter is available, and both Brazobán and Kranick have been outstanding this spring and did nothing on Monday during that slog to sway anyone from the Mets negatively from their cases.
My gut says it’s going to be Kranick. The Mets value versatility, and Kranick not only has A-level stuff but can be a multi-inning reliever for the Mets, which can be valuable on a day José Buttó might not be available. Brazobán’s strikeability is always in question, and I think the Mets just need to roll with the player who has the higher upside overall, and that guy is Kranick right now.
That means the Mets bullpen would be comprised of Edwin Diaz, Reed Garrett, Ryne Stanek, Danny Young, Buttó, Minter, and Kranick.
On paper, that’s a really solid group out of the gate. It doesn’t mean this is what it will look like in a month or six months, but this group has swing-and-miss stuff and it’s tough to argue against their ability to shorten games for the Mets’ fractured starting rotation.
Carlos Mendoza said an official announcement on the roster might not come until mid-week.
Interestingly enough, the New York Post reported on Sunday that the Mets were still looking for a right-handed bat externally, which is also another reason why they haven’t officially finalized their roster. Given their luxury tax situation, I am not sure where the Mets would be able to go unless they were able to trade some salary to offset the addition. But the only money the Mets could possibly trade is Starling Marte, a guy they obviously had difficulty moving when they were openly trying to trade him during the winter.
Marte has proven he is at least healthy enough to be a part-time player, but there aren’t a lot of teams who would be willing to pay $20 million for a player who can’t start. So, it would stand to reason why the Mets haven’t been able to move him, even if they’re willing to eat some of that cost.
Also - the Mets could always promote Alexander Canario to be that right-handed bat at the league minimum, which would equate to just over $1.5 million if he were in the big leagues all year. He was outstanding after he was acquired early in camp - he hit a grand slam on Sunday and hit three home runs with eight RBI in 43 plate appearances this spring.
They could also look to move Canario for some depth pieces before Opening Day as well, especially since Canario doesn’t fit on the current construction of the Mets’ 26-man roster. Right now, anyway.
For now, we wait. We have just over 48 hours to kill between now and when the bell rings, and the games count for real. I am just happy the game that’s in my blood is finally back in games that count, and I am looking forward to that first pitch thrown by Framber Valdez to Francisco Lindor on Thursday afternoon.
Around the League 🚩
Mookie Betts is improving from a stomach ailment which sidelined him for the Japan Series (MLB.com)
The Pohlad family is seeking at least $1.7 billion in their sale of the Twins (Athletic)
The Yankees signed LHP Ryan Yarbrough to a one-year contract (release)
Phillies LHP Ranger Suárez is headed to the injured list with a sore back (ESPN)
Can Canario be optioned? Also, I'll reiterate that Marte hit lefties really well last year. My hunch is that his tank isn't as empty as many seem to think.
Pretty sure Marte is untradeable with that contract. Cannario looked really good but he probably gets waived unfortunately unless we can trade him for cash?