The Mets made it to the NLCS last year, spent a ton of money in the offseason and now head to Spring Training with both a ton of interesting players and no shortage of things that make people question if they can come close to the success the team enjoyed in 2024.
I’d like to see several things: Brian mentioned one in Nimmo foot health that reportedly hasn’t healed yet! The second is McNeil to continue his good hitting from the second half of last year. The third is how Alvarez’ new swing and batting approach looks. Last, I’d like to see how Diaz acts with runners on base.
My guess with Diaz is that it's a continuation of the Noah Syndergaard approach. Don't let them get on in the first place and then strand them at third if they do reach base.
Brian, this is ludicrous. What pitcher wants to allow baserunners? The point is, when they inevitably get on, can you change your timing or do something to keep them from running at will while still keeping focus on the hitter? This is MLB, no excuse for not executing fundamentals.
Does McNeil deserve the 2B job? Will Pete show a different approach at the plate? Will Sproat mow down big league hitters? Will Montas really be good? Will Holmes be a decent starter? Will Senga be back as a #1/#2 starter? Will Alvarez's new approach at the plate work well? Will Minter be the set-up guy? Which young relievers will surprise us (like last year)? Will Siri 2023 or 2024 show up?
"Sproat, Tidwell, McLean, and Tong will all see time on the mound" sounds like the gloomiest, most horrific prediction I've heard so far this offseason.
I must be missing something. What are you reading into that that I am not seeing? The big league clubs always give their propect players time in spring games to see what they have. Not sure why you say this is gloom and doom ?
Maybe I misinterpreted but from the context of David's sentence it looks like he expects all four to pitch during the regular season, "none will make the squad out of spring but all should see some time."
Yeah . .I read that that 'all should see some time on the mound this spring', but mine may have been a misinterpretation - David may be thinking that they are all options for in-season call-ups for spot starts.
Id be shocked of all are pitching in Queens this year, and I think its an injury related longshot even for Sproat. He's got a lot to prove in Syracuse still.
Great comments guys. Agree with all of it. If the pitchers down on the farm show great promise in spring training and when they start the season in the minors, then some of my pitching anxiety will be alleviated. Great call on Nimmo, Brian. If his foot issues are not resolved, he will only be 70% of the player they need out in left field, and with Alonso back on the squad my thought of moving him to first base is moot. If Acuna has a strong spring, we might see them move McNeil, if even as a salary dump.
Had I not be inundated with a bad case of the flu this week I would have weighed it.
All you guys have great points. I am always interested in seeing what the young guys bring. I made a statement somewhere a while ago that it was possible that Sproat makes the #6 starter and jumps over Syracuse. Unlikely, but others have done that.
Brian's point about the team chemistry is very valid. Will Pete put the money thing behind him and be a great teammate and will Soto blend in with the group. I think Lindor had a lot to do with pulling everybody together (without much basis for that statement), but if he remains the common denominator, good things will happen.
The one guy that I am focused on for some reason is Griffin Canning. They must have signed him for some reason and a couple of clips I have seen have him saying good things about the Mets system.
Lastly, I want to see a new version of Brett Baty at the plate. I still think he could make a good super-utility guy that can play multiple positions and slide into any one of them for a couple months full time if necessary. I am trying to come up with a comp - maybe Kiki Hernandez. I'd like to say Ben Zobrist, but Zobrist was more of a regular at 2B, although he did play over 200 games at four different positions in his career. I'd love to see that development.
I get the sense that will be Acuna. I cant see Baty ever making SS, and I doubt his range will cover 2B well enough. Id be looking to make him a left fielder longer term for when Nimmo plays 1B next year. He will see the ball well from the left side and has good arm strength.
Fair points. I think you and I differ a bit on Acuna. I see him as the full time second baseman starting in 2026 if not before.
When looking at roster spots by position, it is hard to see anywhere that Baty fits on this team - either now or in the future without a major injury or a complete Mark Vientos flop (which I don't expect). I can't disagree with you that left field seems like the most likely slot.
My concern with Acuna is that he wont hit enough to anchor a position full time. I seem him getting ABs as a super U for ceiling projections. I hope he can prove me wrong.
I would like to see what Acuna can do in the grapefruit league and see what Clay Holmes has. Would like to get a dose of 80 degrees and sunshine in the stands.
I am interested to see if Clay Holmes can be and effective mid rotation starter. He was an effective relief pitcher and closer. Now he has to pitch more than one inning at a time and he has to increase his pitch arsenal. Can he pitch as a starter more effectively as 2024 Quintana? If the Mets wanted to make a relief pitcher into a starter then why didn't they do it with Jose Butto instead and invest the salary into another good relief pitcher? Spring training and the early season will tell if it was a good risk.
Poor Butto. No player should ever be considered "too valuable" as a reliever not to get a fair shot at being a SP.
I don't begrudge the Mets signing Holmes and giving him a shot as a SP. The more I think about it, the more I like this move. But I'm not quite as forgiving with the Montas signing but I'm still sort of okay with it because he's likely to give you quantity innings, which is a good thing.
But re-upping with Blackburn and signing Canning just to keep Butto in the pen is what really annoys me.
"Brandon Nimmo said the left foot that was hampered by plantar fasciitis in the postseason has felt normal over the last three to four weeks. Running on Friday, Nimmo was able to reach 91 percent of his top speed, he said."
The article also notes he received a PRP injection earlier in the offseason.
I am most interested in seeing spring training end…with no serious injuries…and specifically Nimmo and Minter fully healed. The top 3 priorities- health, health, and health.
I’d like to see several things: Brian mentioned one in Nimmo foot health that reportedly hasn’t healed yet! The second is McNeil to continue his good hitting from the second half of last year. The third is how Alvarez’ new swing and batting approach looks. Last, I’d like to see how Diaz acts with runners on base.
My guess with Diaz is that it's a continuation of the Noah Syndergaard approach. Don't let them get on in the first place and then strand them at third if they do reach base.
Brian, this is ludicrous. What pitcher wants to allow baserunners? The point is, when they inevitably get on, can you change your timing or do something to keep them from running at will while still keeping focus on the hitter? This is MLB, no excuse for not executing fundamentals.
Does McNeil deserve the 2B job? Will Pete show a different approach at the plate? Will Sproat mow down big league hitters? Will Montas really be good? Will Holmes be a decent starter? Will Senga be back as a #1/#2 starter? Will Alvarez's new approach at the plate work well? Will Minter be the set-up guy? Which young relievers will surprise us (like last year)? Will Siri 2023 or 2024 show up?
"Sproat, Tidwell, McLean, and Tong will all see time on the mound" sounds like the gloomiest, most horrific prediction I've heard so far this offseason.
I must be missing something. What are you reading into that that I am not seeing? The big league clubs always give their propect players time in spring games to see what they have. Not sure why you say this is gloom and doom ?
Maybe I misinterpreted but from the context of David's sentence it looks like he expects all four to pitch during the regular season, "none will make the squad out of spring but all should see some time."
Yeah . .I read that that 'all should see some time on the mound this spring', but mine may have been a misinterpretation - David may be thinking that they are all options for in-season call-ups for spot starts.
Id be shocked of all are pitching in Queens this year, and I think its an injury related longshot even for Sproat. He's got a lot to prove in Syracuse still.
Great comments guys. Agree with all of it. If the pitchers down on the farm show great promise in spring training and when they start the season in the minors, then some of my pitching anxiety will be alleviated. Great call on Nimmo, Brian. If his foot issues are not resolved, he will only be 70% of the player they need out in left field, and with Alonso back on the squad my thought of moving him to first base is moot. If Acuna has a strong spring, we might see them move McNeil, if even as a salary dump.
Had I not be inundated with a bad case of the flu this week I would have weighed it.
All you guys have great points. I am always interested in seeing what the young guys bring. I made a statement somewhere a while ago that it was possible that Sproat makes the #6 starter and jumps over Syracuse. Unlikely, but others have done that.
Brian's point about the team chemistry is very valid. Will Pete put the money thing behind him and be a great teammate and will Soto blend in with the group. I think Lindor had a lot to do with pulling everybody together (without much basis for that statement), but if he remains the common denominator, good things will happen.
The one guy that I am focused on for some reason is Griffin Canning. They must have signed him for some reason and a couple of clips I have seen have him saying good things about the Mets system.
Lastly, I want to see a new version of Brett Baty at the plate. I still think he could make a good super-utility guy that can play multiple positions and slide into any one of them for a couple months full time if necessary. I am trying to come up with a comp - maybe Kiki Hernandez. I'd like to say Ben Zobrist, but Zobrist was more of a regular at 2B, although he did play over 200 games at four different positions in his career. I'd love to see that development.
I get the sense that will be Acuna. I cant see Baty ever making SS, and I doubt his range will cover 2B well enough. Id be looking to make him a left fielder longer term for when Nimmo plays 1B next year. He will see the ball well from the left side and has good arm strength.
Fair points. I think you and I differ a bit on Acuna. I see him as the full time second baseman starting in 2026 if not before.
When looking at roster spots by position, it is hard to see anywhere that Baty fits on this team - either now or in the future without a major injury or a complete Mark Vientos flop (which I don't expect). I can't disagree with you that left field seems like the most likely slot.
My concern with Acuna is that he wont hit enough to anchor a position full time. I seem him getting ABs as a super U for ceiling projections. I hope he can prove me wrong.
I'm with Joe. I want to see Sproat and Tidwell and if Baty can resurrect his "elite-prospect" status.
I would also like to see Alvarez regain his offensive consistency.
I would like to see what Acuna can do in the grapefruit league and see what Clay Holmes has. Would like to get a dose of 80 degrees and sunshine in the stands.
I am interested to see if Clay Holmes can be and effective mid rotation starter. He was an effective relief pitcher and closer. Now he has to pitch more than one inning at a time and he has to increase his pitch arsenal. Can he pitch as a starter more effectively as 2024 Quintana? If the Mets wanted to make a relief pitcher into a starter then why didn't they do it with Jose Butto instead and invest the salary into another good relief pitcher? Spring training and the early season will tell if it was a good risk.
Poor Butto. No player should ever be considered "too valuable" as a reliever not to get a fair shot at being a SP.
I don't begrudge the Mets signing Holmes and giving him a shot as a SP. The more I think about it, the more I like this move. But I'm not quite as forgiving with the Montas signing but I'm still sort of okay with it because he's likely to give you quantity innings, which is a good thing.
But re-upping with Blackburn and signing Canning just to keep Butto in the pen is what really annoys me.
"Brandon Nimmo said the left foot that was hampered by plantar fasciitis in the postseason has felt normal over the last three to four weeks. Running on Friday, Nimmo was able to reach 91 percent of his top speed, he said."
The article also notes he received a PRP injection earlier in the offseason.
https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/6137455/2025/02/14/new-york-mets-spring-training-edwin-diaz-notes/
I wish I could reach 91 percent of my top speed.
I am most interested in seeing spring training end…with no serious injuries…and specifically Nimmo and Minter fully healed. The top 3 priorities- health, health, and health.