One thing I’d like to see more of is the Dominican player Soto is. He is much more animated playing in this WBC than he has been for the Mets or anyone really in the big leagues. I like seeing him more animated and playing like he enjoys the game. I also hope we get the bat he has shown so far for his country. They can’t get the guy out and should he play this way for the Mets all season I’d have to believe they have their first MVP. IF Senga is back to ‘23 form and Holmes gives us what he did last season with a little more length this is shaping up to a serious rotation that can go toe to toe with any in the league. I am certainly getting excited by what I’ve seen so far. Manaea can go have surgery and the five man rotation can live on. The season is almost here!
Animated, I like it. With improvement from Holmes and Peterson and a '23 Senga, they'll win a lot of games. Especially if they install Baty at first and keep Tauchman as I've been telling Stearns for a few weeks now.
Some. But on the other hand, there's a school of thought that Soto's shortcomings in the field are due to a lack of passion rather than ability so I'm inclined to be glad about his energetic play.
Normally, I would say yes. But he knew exactly what he was doing. Great slide. I don't think it's something he would have done with a major league catcher in a better position to block him.
Vientos should have stayed in camp. Were I in his cleats, I would have told Mendy, "Skip, give me as many reps at first as you want. I'm ready to take it on." And then go out there and play my way into the position.
But as it is, it's tough to see him on the Opening Day roster. And it's tough to see him moving for value right now, too. It must be a real issue for Stearns.
On the flip side, I love what I've seen from Holmes both in camp and in the WBC, and Senga really does look like he's gotten over some kind of mental hump. His simplified delivery was very clean, very efficient.
However it shakes out, we're looking really good in the rotation. The only real question mark right now is Big Sean. But if he can get sorted before Opening Day, we have options for handling it.
So glad they didn't trade Senga this winter when his value was at an all-time low. Quibble: calling Vientos a "slugger", that's a reach at this point. There's an iffy website out there that calls each and every position player a "slugger", lamentable. If I'm Stearns I'd approach him about a voluntary stint in Syracuse, pointing out what it did for Alvarez.
I think it’s more realistic to assume Peralta will be the steady man at the top, Holmes and Peterson will continue to be the pitchers we saw before they ran out of steam last season, Senga will be closer to his 1st half ‘25 self than anything else, and we are doing ourselves a disservice by penciling McLean in as the #2 guy with only 8 major league starts under his belt. I’d slot him as the #5 starter behind the other 4 I mentioned and let him gain some experience against the #5 starters from other teams, with less pressure.
More concerning, Manaea looks very hittable and I wouldn’t want him as even the #6 starter right now. He’s got a couple weeks (and maybe more based on the early season schedule) to figure it out but if he can’t, he needs to be pushed to the pen or the IL (although the multiple statements that’s he’s completely healthy make that difficult) to work on his velocity and location. The good news is they have Myers, Tong, Scott and others waiting in the wings. I’m actually confident, for the first time in a loooong time, in the Mets SP depth.
There just doesn’t seem to be a place for Vientos on this new version of the Mets. Every other player on the offense can either play multiple positions or is a gold glover at their position. Vientos is a below average 3B and in his limited time at 1B he looked like he should burn the glove and never attempt it again. Add to that he hasn’t hit for anything since the playoffs in 2024, so you can’t count on him as a platoon DH or just a solid pinch hitter…where does that leave him? Unfortunately, he’s out of options, so he either has to be traded, DFA’d, clear waivers (unlikely) or accept a demotion to AAA. Even if he goes to AAA and finds his swing, he’s still got no position. He’s not going to turn into a better 3B than Bo or Ronny or Baty…maybe he works on 1B and with enough reps becomes as serviceable as Alonso was. I just don’t see it. Assuming the Mets take the best 26 players up north in a couple weeks, I can’t see how Vientos is one of them.
How many times have we heard GKR talk about the dangers of sliding head first into home plate? That's all the Mets need, is for their $765M investment to get hurt, especially in an exhibition tournament!
One thing I’d like to see more of is the Dominican player Soto is. He is much more animated playing in this WBC than he has been for the Mets or anyone really in the big leagues. I like seeing him more animated and playing like he enjoys the game. I also hope we get the bat he has shown so far for his country. They can’t get the guy out and should he play this way for the Mets all season I’d have to believe they have their first MVP. IF Senga is back to ‘23 form and Holmes gives us what he did last season with a little more length this is shaping up to a serious rotation that can go toe to toe with any in the league. I am certainly getting excited by what I’ve seen so far. Manaea can go have surgery and the five man rotation can live on. The season is almost here!
Animated, I like it. With improvement from Holmes and Peterson and a '23 Senga, they'll win a lot of games. Especially if they install Baty at first and keep Tauchman as I've been telling Stearns for a few weeks now.
Anyone else get nervous with Soto sliding headfirst into home?
Some. But on the other hand, there's a school of thought that Soto's shortcomings in the field are due to a lack of passion rather than ability so I'm inclined to be glad about his energetic play.
Normally, I would say yes. But he knew exactly what he was doing. Great slide. I don't think it's something he would have done with a major league catcher in a better position to block him.
Vientos should have stayed in camp. Were I in his cleats, I would have told Mendy, "Skip, give me as many reps at first as you want. I'm ready to take it on." And then go out there and play my way into the position.
But as it is, it's tough to see him on the Opening Day roster. And it's tough to see him moving for value right now, too. It must be a real issue for Stearns.
On the flip side, I love what I've seen from Holmes both in camp and in the WBC, and Senga really does look like he's gotten over some kind of mental hump. His simplified delivery was very clean, very efficient.
However it shakes out, we're looking really good in the rotation. The only real question mark right now is Big Sean. But if he can get sorted before Opening Day, we have options for handling it.
I really like where we are.
With Senga time will tell, but if he is right it is well worth the patience.
So glad they didn't trade Senga this winter when his value was at an all-time low. Quibble: calling Vientos a "slugger", that's a reach at this point. There's an iffy website out there that calls each and every position player a "slugger", lamentable. If I'm Stearns I'd approach him about a voluntary stint in Syracuse, pointing out what it did for Alvarez.
I think it’s more realistic to assume Peralta will be the steady man at the top, Holmes and Peterson will continue to be the pitchers we saw before they ran out of steam last season, Senga will be closer to his 1st half ‘25 self than anything else, and we are doing ourselves a disservice by penciling McLean in as the #2 guy with only 8 major league starts under his belt. I’d slot him as the #5 starter behind the other 4 I mentioned and let him gain some experience against the #5 starters from other teams, with less pressure.
More concerning, Manaea looks very hittable and I wouldn’t want him as even the #6 starter right now. He’s got a couple weeks (and maybe more based on the early season schedule) to figure it out but if he can’t, he needs to be pushed to the pen or the IL (although the multiple statements that’s he’s completely healthy make that difficult) to work on his velocity and location. The good news is they have Myers, Tong, Scott and others waiting in the wings. I’m actually confident, for the first time in a loooong time, in the Mets SP depth.
There just doesn’t seem to be a place for Vientos on this new version of the Mets. Every other player on the offense can either play multiple positions or is a gold glover at their position. Vientos is a below average 3B and in his limited time at 1B he looked like he should burn the glove and never attempt it again. Add to that he hasn’t hit for anything since the playoffs in 2024, so you can’t count on him as a platoon DH or just a solid pinch hitter…where does that leave him? Unfortunately, he’s out of options, so he either has to be traded, DFA’d, clear waivers (unlikely) or accept a demotion to AAA. Even if he goes to AAA and finds his swing, he’s still got no position. He’s not going to turn into a better 3B than Bo or Ronny or Baty…maybe he works on 1B and with enough reps becomes as serviceable as Alonso was. I just don’t see it. Assuming the Mets take the best 26 players up north in a couple weeks, I can’t see how Vientos is one of them.
How many times have we heard GKR talk about the dangers of sliding head first into home plate? That's all the Mets need, is for their $765M investment to get hurt, especially in an exhibition tournament!