Paul Blackburn roughed up, Mets Grapefruit League winning streak ends
Plus - Jose Siri is mashing. What is his ceiling in 2025?
What’s up with the Mets? 🌴
The Mets fell to the Red Sox in Fort Myers on Sunday by the score of 6-4 (Box)
Rotation candidate Paul Blackburn started for the Mets and struggled, allowing four earned runs on three hits and two walks in just an inning and a third
José Siri crushed his third home run of the spring in the loss
Jeff McNeil led off for the Mets and contributed two hits and scored a run
Lefty Genesis Cabrera threw a perfect inning with two strikeouts in the 5th
Injury Updates 🏥
LHP AJ Minter (hip) threw live batting practice at Clover Park on Sunday. He is still targeting being available for opening day
INF Nick Madrigal will undergo season-ending surgery after fracturing his shoulder in his first and only Grapefruit League appearance last week
Today’s Game 🗓️
Match-up: Mets (4-5) vs Marlins (3-4)
Where: Clover Park — Port St Lucie, FL
Starters: RHP Kodai Senga (0-0, 0.00 ERA) vs. RHP Connor Gillispie (0-0 0.00 ERA)
When: 6:10 PM EST
Where to Watch: SNY
What is Jose Siri’s ceiling on the 2025 Mets?✍️
The Mets acquired center fielder José Siri from the Rays in exchange for right-handed reliever Eric Orze in the middle of November in a move that didn’t necessarily generate a plethora of fanfare.
The mercurial 29-year-old spent the last two seasons as Tampa Bay’s starting center fielder, where in many ways he was one of the American League’s most enigmatic players.
Take last season for example.
Playing in 130 of the Rays’ games, Siri slashed a paltry .187/.255/.366 while striking out 170 times in 402 at-bats. In case math isn’t your strong point, that’s a staggering 42.2% of his official plate appearances!
But the Siri experience isn’t all negative.
When he did hit the ball, it tended to go a long way. He connected on 18 home runs, while also adding 16 doubles and a triple. Additionally, he stole 14 bases—though his stolen base percentage was not exactly encouraging as he was gunned down seven times.
Siri’s most standout quality, however, is his defense, where he routinely makes Gold Glove-caliber plays at a premium position. It’s rare that someone who can at times struggle to even make contact offensively can be such an impact player, but Siri’s defense is honestly special.
He’s also an excellent baserunner, which is an asset for a team which routinely ranks in the lower third of the league in that category, per FanGraphs.
So where does he fit in with the Mets in 2025?
Last season, New York utilized essentially a timeshare in center with Harrison Bader and Tyrone Taylor. Both played excellent defense—albeit not at the same level as Siri—but both also struggled to contribute much offensively. Taylor was slightly more productive—and took over the starting job down the stretch and into the playoffs— but both he and Bader failed to reach base at even a .300 clip.
The Mets are projected to slide Siri into essentially the same role Bader played a year ago and have him share time with Taylor, with the latter likely slated to begin the season as the starter.
That could change in a hurry, however.
In a limited sample size this spring training, Siri has hit a team-high three home runs. Those three long balls are admittedly his only three hits of the spring, but as mentioned above, that’s part of the Siri experience. If he can play his phenomenal defense in center field while contributing consistent spurts of power from the bottom of the Mets order, it will be hard for the team to take him out of the lineup.
While Taylor may be a more polished all-around offensive player, he does not have the same ceiling as Siri.
It will be curious to see how his hot start to the spring translates into the regular season, but if he can prove himself capable of being a regular contributor and wiggle into Carlos Mendoza’s circle of trust, look for Siri to take over as the team’s starter at position number eight.
One thing is for sure - if Siri is making contact, it is usually dramatic contact. If the Mets and Siri can work to increase his contact and chase rate, the Mets might be able to get more than they bargained for and in a good way from this player.
Around the League 🚩
Tigers top prospect Jackson Jobe struck out three hitters in three innings in Detroit’s 10-4 win over Pittsburgh
Philadelphia got a walk-off hit from outfielder Matt Kroon to beat the Orioles 5-4
The Braves homered four times in an 11-1 drubbing of the Yankees
Robbie Ray struck out six Angels across three dominant innings en route to a 9-5 San Francisco victory
Depending on how you count them, he's with his 3rd or 5th organization. If he learns how to hit, Stearns will look like a genius. I like the "enigmatic" description, apt.
Siri sounds like better defense not as much power Joey Gallo. Hopefully at some point this season Jett or Gilbert or Acuna can win the CF spot. I do like the styling though 😀