Mets hold their first workout for pitchers and catchers, make some roster moves

Spring Training is in full swing for the Mets. Plus, remembering José Valentín on this Valentine’s Day.

What’s up with the Mets? ⚾️ 🌴

• The Mets held their official first workout for pitchers and catchers in Port St. Lucie on Wednesday

• The Mets officially announced their one-year contract with RHP Shintaro Fujinami - they placed INF Ronny Mauricio (ACL tear) on the 60-day IL to make room on the roster

• LHP David Peterson has suffered no setbacks from off-season hip surgery - he expects to return mid-year

• RHP Luis Severino believes his pitch-tipping issue stemmed from the use of his breaking pitches (New York Post)

• Former Met Lenny Dykstra recently suffered a stroke and has been hospitalized in Los Angeles (New York Post)

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Hope is springing eternal… ✍️

Hope has definitely sprung eternal in Port St. Lucie.

Luis Severino thinks he has figured out his pitch tipping problem, David Peterson feels good after off-season hip surgery, David Stearns feels good about his roster and still expects to contend for a playoff spot come October.

Someone has to be in the best shape of his life down there. Reporters just haven’t found that player yet.

They will.

Look, it’s all good. I don’t expect anyone to say on day one they feel like crap, and that Severino’s confidence is still shaken as he’s yet to figure out why he has stunk recently. I’m sure they all think they’ve righted their ship, and they may very well have. I certainly hope they have for the sake of the Mets and their chances in 2024.

I actually do like the approach the Mets have taken with the roster even though I still feel it’s incomplete. I think that while the ceiling may not be as high for this roster, the floor is a little higher in that they’ve procured a lot of depth for the pitching staff specifically.

I don’t know if this is enough to actually contend this season. My gut says it isn’t, but 162 games and three wild cards make it almost harder to not make it than it is to do so and if the Mets have as much depth as they tout, maybe they will get a few extra games come October.

And if Kodai Senga and José Quintana could simply be as good as they were in 2023, their rotation could actually be a sneaky top third in the game, if the rest trends in the right direction of course.

I am looking forward to seeing Severino’s attempt to rebound and whether or not Sean Manaea has bridged his late season success from 2023 into 2024, and whether or not all of the changes these pitchers have made are sustainable for 25-30 starts this season.

Severino is all upside for the Mets, a $13 million gamble that he’s figured out his pitch tipping problem, a $13 million gamble he can finally stay healthy, and a $13 million gamble that his immense talent can propel the top of this pitching staff to a different place anyone else expects them to be.

Of course, when one gambles, they usually lose. But this is baseball, it’s spring training and hope is springing eternal on February 15.

Manaea is a different situation. The Mets are hoping the training he has done in Seattle to clean up his mechanics, increase in his velocity and a newfound sweeper will translate into more outs for him. He had a 3.44 ERA over his last 29 games in 2023, although 25 of those games came in relief.

We shall see. Play better, as Buck Showalter once said. And, don’t get hurt.

Anyway, there’s something out there that’s bothering me.

Have you all seen these new uniforms?

Nike decided to lower the MLB logo on the back, reduce the size of the player name lettering, and the numbers just don’t look right to me. Maybe its the new fabric of the jerseys, but they appear closer together to me on the back and too big on the front.

The part that bothers me the most though is the lettering on the back. They look like knock off jerseys. And it’s not just on these Met jerseys either - it’s on any jersey in MLB with a name on the back, which includes anyone not named the Red Sox (at home) or Yankees.

I don’t even know what else to say. Even my soon-to-be-12-year-old daughter said, “what did the Mets do to their jerseys?!?!” last night.

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Hot Stove 🔥

• The Phillies and RHP Zack Wheeler are discussing a contract extension (Athletic)

• Mike Moustakas is going to the White Sox on a minor league contract (USA Today)

• The Yankees signed Lou Trevino to a minor league deal on Wednesday

• Scott Effross recently had back surgery and will not be available to the Yankees until this summer (New York Post)

• The Rangers - who have been linked to Jordan Montgomery throughout the winter - do not expect to make anymore additions (Dallas Morning News)

• Liam Hendriks - now a free agent who is recovering from Tommy John Surgery - is giving it until today to sign with a team, otherwise he will continue to rehab on his own and hope to sign with a team later (ESPN)