The Mets suffer the first meaningful injury of camp with Kodai Senga out
New York must take on an underdog mentality heading into the regular season
What’s up with the Mets? 🍎
David Stearns announced RHP Kodai Senga has a moderate strain of his posterior capsule in his shoulder (Story)
Even though he’s likely to miss the entire year recovering from a torn ACL, manager Carlos Mendoza would like Ronny Mauricio to be around the Mets during the season (Newsday)
Adam Ottavino is working to improve upon his ability to hold runners on-base (MLB.com)
The Mets must embrace an underdog mentality… ✍️
This time last year, expectations in Port Saint Lucie were through the roof.
The Mets had just won 101 games in 2022. They had a pair of future Hall of Famers, World Series champions and Cy Young award winners - Max Scherzer and Justin Verlander - leading their rotation.
And they had the best closer in baseball finishing games for them. After a disappointing end to the season the previous October, the Mets were eager to make a deeper postseason run this time around.
Life was good. Until it wasn’t.
Edwin Díaz was tragically lost for the entire season due to a freak injury in the WBC. Scherzer and Verlander were both injured and inconsistent. As a whole, the majority of the roster underperformed. The Mets were out of the race early and ended up trading numerous veterans away in July, something that clearly was not in the 2023 brochure.
So, here we are getting set to begin the 2024 campaign and the vibe around the team is much different. The media isn’t placing immense pressure and expectations on this team (as opposed to David Stearns, who declared this a playoff caliber team). National pundits are not predicting New York to be one of the better teams in the National League.
Some fans are even looking towards 2025 already.
But that’s not the vibe coming from the Mets clubhouse.
The Mets players seem to be projecting a quiet confidence, and an understanding that if things break right and everyone does their job, they could surprise some people.
It’s impossible for even the greatest Mets detractors to argue that there isn’t talent on this team. It’s fair to question the ceiling for the New York roster, but it would also be premature to discount players before they even get a chance.
Most baseball observers will say the Mets are behind both the Braves and Phillies in the NL East. On paper, they’re certainly right. Some might even say the Marlins will be better again.
I’d politely disagree on that point but regardless, it’s a meaningless subject to debate.
Who had the Rangers and Diamondbacks playing in the World Series last year? If you did, and put money on it on opening day, I’d love to see your payout stub.
The point is, baseball is played on the field. Not on paper and not on a spreadsheet—though some analytics minded folks might argue that last point.
Last year the Mets were in large part being praised locally and simultaneously hated nationally for turning into the new age Steinbrenner Yankees. The players knew they were supposed to be good, and when they got off to a strange and disjointed start, the pressure players were feeling was almost palpable. It was like they knew they were supposed to win, and the adversity they were facing was so unexpected and stunning, they had no counterpunch.
Which is why heading into 2024 I’m excited to see a different mindset. This team simply has to get scrappy, chippy, and play with a major chip on their shoulder.
You don’t think we can compete this year? Okay we’ll show you.
You don’t think our pitching is good enough? Let’s go shut you out.
You don’t think we added enough offense? Let’s beat you in a slugfest.
Losing Senga for the beginning of the year completely sinks us? Watch Tylor Megill/Joey Lucchesi/Jose Butto give us a handful of good starts.
Developing an attitude is not a bad thing, and I feel like in Pete Alonso, Jeff McNeil, and even Francisco Álvarez in particular, the Mets have guys with the personality to take this on. Playing with an edge is important when you’re not going to bludgeon the opposition with pure talent, and I’m finding myself cautiously getting optimistic about this team.
Hot Stove 🔥
Austin Nola had a busy Thursday, as he was released by the Brewers and later signed with Kansas City (MLB.com)
Miami signed veteran shortstop Tim Anderson (ESPN)
Former Met Joely Rodriguez is returning to Boston on a minor league deal (MassLive.com)
The Tigers signed veteran infielder Gio Urshela (ESPN)
Pittsburgh signed righty Mitch Keller to a five year extension (ESPN)
Can’t believe the Whiz Kid passed on Ursula for like $2M he is a lot better than Short for sure