Tylor Megill shines again, the lefty bullpen competition heats up, and the teaser trailer for Francisco Álvarez
Tylor Megill allowed two unearned runs in his second outing of the spring
What’s Up with the Mets? 🌴
Tylor Megill was victimized by two errors from JD Davis at third base on Friday night, but was otherwise solid again while allowing two unearned runs in 3 2/3 IP in his second outing of the spring
Lefties Alex Claudio and Rob Zastryzny each contributed a scoreless inning of relief, as did Adam Ottavino and Trevor May
Travis Jankowski - a defensive-first outfielder in camp as a non-roster invitee - made his second stellar catch in the outfield on Friday and is in position to break camp with the team thanks to the expanded rosters to start the year
Mets manager Buck Showalter said James McCann (back stiffness) should be back in the lineup on Tuesday
Starling Marte (oblique) could appear in a minor league game on Monday
Jacob deGrom threw a side session and responded positively following his electric outing earlier this week, Showalter said.
A reunion with Michael Conforto remains, “extremely unlikely” (MLB.com) while the Blue Jays have shown mild interest in Conforto (Sportsnet)
A teaser trailer for Francisco Álvarez… 📝
Sometimes, the best part of a movie are the coming attractions, just before the movie starts.
On Thursday night in Port St. Lucie, the Mets showed the audience a sneak preview of their blockbuster film, potentially coming as soon as 2023. The film isn’t ready just yet, but they did show a polished part of the film under the lights at Clover Park.
In the eight inning against the Marlins on Thursday night in Port St. Lucie, the Mets best prospect and tenth-best in baseball overall (according to MLB.com) Francisco Álvarez hit a long solo home run off the scoreboard in left center field.
“That’s a real big boy home run right there,” Mets manager Buck Showalter said after the game.
As the roster is currently constructed, there is no chance Álvarez is making the team out of camp. If everything goes right in 2022 for the Mets, Álvarez won’t even be in the conversation until next spring. Lastly, in any scenario where Álvarez is in the conversation, it needs to be that of a regular, starting role.
Having said all of that, is it possible the best catcher in camp right now is Álvarez?
Of course, the Mets aren’t going to rush Álvarez. Prospects, especially those at premium positions, need not be rushed and he needs seasoning at Double-A and Triple-A. While his defense has unquestionably progressed, like most any catching prospect he needs work to get it on-level for big league game speed. The Mets will sooner sign or trade for a stopgap at the position over the course of the season than to fast track Álvarez to the big leagues just to band-aid a problem.
We have seen that movie before with the Mets, and they don’t usually have a good ending.
But if Álvarez continues on the fast track to the big leagues and continues to perform at each stage of his development, there will come a point where the conversation will turn to when he will be called up, especially if James McCann struggles at any point during the season.
In any event, it’s always nice to use this time of year to look down the pipeline and see the future. People tend to see prospects through stat lines over the course of the regular season minus the handful of people that watch the games or see the daily highlight videos.
Watching that ball explode off the bat of Álvarez on Thursday night provided context to those stat lines and highlight videos, and a nice hint of the riches the Mets are building at the position.
Hot Stove 🔥
Jed Lowrie is returning to the A’s on a one-year contract (Athletic)
The Orioles haven’t yet engaged other teams in trade discussions for LHP John Means or INF Trey Mancini (Athletic), although both are viewed as trade candidates in the 2022 season
Foreign substance inspections among pitchers will be enhanced during the 2022 season (SI)
Dodgers manager Dave Roberts received a three-year contract extension (Heyman)
This Jed Lowrie situation is so odd. Wish I knew the whole story…