The calm before the storm...
The final day of the offseason is upon us, and there's only one thing left for the Mets to do – play ball.
What’s Up with the Mets? ⚾️
The Mets will enjoy their final off-day today before kicking off the regular season tomorrow afternoon in Miami
Omar Narváez is expected to catch RHP Max Scherzer on Opening Day
RHP Bryce Montes de Oca will undergo arthroscopic surgery to remove bone fragments in his right elbow today and is expected to miss up to four months (Bally Sports)
C Kevin Parada (No. 3 ranked prospect) and RHP Blade Tidwell (No. 7 ranked prospect) will open the season in High-A Brooklyn (Newsday)
The K Korner, a new bar and restaurant, will open in the old McFaddens location at Citi Field starting on April 6th (Mets)
Today’s Game 🗓️
The Mets are off today. They begin the 2023 regular season on Thursday afternoon at 4:10 PM ET against the Marlins at loanDepot Park in Miami.
There’s only one thing left to do… Play ball! ✍🏻
What a long winter it’s been.
It’s been nearly six months since I walked out of Citi Field for the last time, moments after the Mets were eliminated from postseason play by getting one-hit by the Padres in the Wild Card Series.
Since then, this franchise has seen quite the roster makeover. Jacob deGrom is gone, Justin Verlander is here, Carlos Correa briefly was, and then wasn’t. 60 percent of the starting rotation has been replaced, while the reloaded bullpen lost it’s crown jewel in Edwin Díaz to a season-ending injury in the World Baseball Classic.
One thing that hasn’t changed is that New York’s expectations remain sky high. This is a team that has unfinished business to take care of coming off a dominant 101-win campaign that fizzled out last year. After five months of elite play, the Mets eventually let a 10.5-game lead in the National League East get away and lost in the first round of the playoffs to a team that won 13 less games than they had. This is a franchise that is left with a bad taste in their mouth that can only be washed away by winning in 2023.
The Mets were the oldest team in the majors last season and didn’t exactly get any younger this offseason, led by two starting pitchers that are 38- and 40-years-old respectively. And while there will still be some impactful youngsters that play a part later in the season, the time for this team to win is now.
Led by the likes of Verlander, Max Scherzer, Francisco Lindor and Pete Alonso, New York is armed and ready to compete once again in the National League.
The cold of the winter has faded. The time for rumors and predictions is over. There’s only one thing left to do… Play ball!
Around the League 🚩
The Guardians and SS/2B Andrés Giménez are finalizing a seven-year, $106.5 million contract extension (Passan)
The Phillies acquired RHP T.J. Zeuch in a trade with the Rockies
Athletics OF Christian Pache will not make the club’s Opening Day roster and will either have to be traded or placed on waivers
The Tigers officially granted 2B Cesár Hernández his release on Tuesday