The Mets finally get to put their off-season winnings on display....
The Mets come home for the first time of the 2025 season after a 3-3 road trip through Houston and Miami
What’s up with the Mets? ⚾
The Mets were off on Thursday, but start a six-game homestand beginning with three against the Blue Jays this afternoon at Citi Field
During the Opening Day festivities the Mets will honor the 2000 team and the 2015 team with John Franco, Al Leiter, Bartolo Colón, and Juan Lagares throwing out the first pitch (MLB.com)
The Mets bullpen has been excellent so far this season to help cover for their injured rotation (NY Post)
The Mets have bolstered their scouting department in Japan and the Pacific Rim under David Stearns (Newsday)
Roster Moves 📰
The Mets signed RHP José Marte to a two-year minor league contract
Down on the Farm 🌾
RHP Blade Tidwell (No. 16 prospect, Triple-A): 3.1 IP, 4 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 3 BB, 4 K
OF Gilberto Celestino (Triple-A): 2-for-4, 2B, RBI, HR
BOX SCORES
Triple-A SYR
Today’s Game 🗓️
Match-up: Mets (3-3) vs Blue Jays (5-2)
Where: Citi Field — Flushing, NY
Starters: RHP Kevin Gausman (1-0, 3.00 ERA) vs. RHP Tylor Megill (1-0, 1.80 ERA)
When: 3:10 PM ET
Where to Watch: SNY
The Mets finally get to show off their prize… ✍️
Juan Soto will finally don the home uniform in front of the Citi Field crowd when the Mets take on the Blue Jays this afternoon.
Mets fans, of course, are already quite familiar with Soto, who played in the division at the start of his career with the Nationals. For his career, he is batting .333/.466/.709 with 12 home runs, 26 RBIs, and an OPS of 1.175 in 36 games at Citi Field. Obviously, he has enjoyed success in Queens while playing as an opponent, so hopefully, he can find the same results when he calls Citi Field home.
Soto, of course, has the added pressure of his record-breaking, 15-year, $765 million contract on his shoulders when he takes the field with his teammates on Friday. But he is not the first player to come to New York with high expectations.
Mike Piazza, Carlos Beltrán, and Francisco Lindor all came to the Mets with lofty expectations and high salaries. All experienced highs as New York Mets, but unfortunately, all have experienced the ire of the fanbase as well, the most recent being Lindor.
It just comes with the territory here. But when they were successful, they were treated like heroes by the fanbase.
For instance, after a slow start with the Mets in 2021, Lindor had an array of iconic moments within the span of a month last season and has demonstrated over the first four years of his tenure here just how incredible and valuable a player he is. Similarly, Beltrán’s first season in 2005 was disappointing, but he went on to have a great career in New York and become an all-time great Met, albeit minus that one significant strikeout in the 2006 NLCS.
Piazza, of course, goes without saying and is understood at this point.
All of that should be a lesson in patience for the fans. One season, one at-bat, one game does not define a player, especially a newly acquired one. The beauty of baseball is that you don’t have to wait long for a second chance. You had a bad at-bat? Get ‘em next time up. Have a bad game? You play again tomorrow. Should Soto’s debut not go the way anyone hoped, there’s always tomorrow. Even if he struggles this season, he is far too talented to let that linger like Beltrán and Lindor before him.
Failure is inherent to the game. It’s 9 against 1 when a player steps to the plate!
Soto is going to fail, but he is also going to succeed. Just enjoy the opportunity of getting to watch a future Hall of Famer play every day in their prime while wearing the blue and orange.
It’s going to be fun.
Around the League 🚩
The city of St. Petersburg will spend $22.5 million to fix the Tropicana Field roof with the goal of having the Rays return in 2026 (AP)
The Dodgers placed 1B Freddie Freeman on the IL with an ankle injury after he slipped and fell in the shower (ESPN)
Taijuan Walker pitched six scoreless innings in the Phillies 3-1 win over the Rockies
The Yankees salvaged the final game of their three-game series against the Diamondbacks with a 9-7 win in the Bronx
The Mariners will start a pitcher with the name Luis Castillo two days in a row. It is the first time since the Mets started Bobby Jones two games in a row in 2000 that a pitcher with the same name pitched on consecutive days (MLB)