PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. — “I’m just excited,” manager Carlos Mendoza said Friday, “to watch baseball.”
Amen.
It’s been 146 days since the New York Mets last played a baseball game, and that was not a fun one. Saturday opens with the same opponent, the Miami Marlins, and considerably lower stakes. It’s the beginning of a 29-game exhibition schedule for New York that, more than usual, requires answers for Mendoza and president of baseball operations David Stearns.
It will be important to remind yourself that spring evaluations are notoriously deceptive. A prospect can look amazing in spring — and fall flat on his face during the season. A veteran can look like toast in spring — and earn MVP votes in the fall. But the difficulty of the evaluation doesn’t excuse the Mets from having to do it, and here are four things they need to watch during the exhibition season.
The battle in right field
Not since Pete Alonso claimed the everyday job at first base in 2019 have the Mets had a spring position battle quite like the current one in right field. If anything, these Mets have been more open about giving prospect Carson Benge a shot in right than the 2019 Mets were about going with Alonso on Opening Day. (Alonso had an outstanding spring, but it didn’t hurt that Todd Frazier and Jed Lowrie were both injured.) Stearns has been explicit about the opportunity for Benge to be on the Opening Day roster.
That said, the Mets have practical backup plans. Tyrone Taylor, Brett Baty, Mike Tauchman and MJ Melendez can all be short-term fits until Benge is ready. But that makes the spring action more meaningful for that whole group. What is Mendoza looking to see from Benge?
“I want him to be himself. I know there’s a lot of noise, you’re going to get a real opportunity here, but don’t try to do too much,” Mendoza said early in camp. “As far as what I want to see, the quality of the at-bats, the way he’s competing, how he bounces back after a tough game, the way he carries himself and interacts with players, how he plays the outfield.”
To that end, it’s been an encouraging start. Mendoza has really liked the way Benge has competed in his at-bats during live batting practice.
“To me, that’s a really good sign,” he said, “that he’s able to stay in the fight.”
Baty’s mild hamstring issue has kept him from getting any reps in right field, and the Mets still need him to get more regular action on the infield before he steps out to the grass. That widens the opening for Benge.
Tauchman is a nice late-winter addition on a minor-league deal. Over the past three seasons, spent with the Chicago Cubs and Chicago White Sox, the lefty-swinger has posted a .359 on-base percentage and an OPS eight percent better than the league average.
The defense at the corners
Over the winter, the Mets became fond of pointing out that their infield could consist of four shortstops. After all, that’s the position all of their infielders played at the start of their major-league careers. On the other hand, it’s been five years since either Marcus Semien or Jorge Polanco played short regularly, and Bo Bichette rated among the worst at the position last year with Toronto.
Which is to say, despite that shortstop pedigree, there are reasonable questions to ask about the Mets’ defense, especially at the corners. That’s where Bichette is learning third base and Polanco first base. Bichette, who deftly shifted to second base on the fly in the World Series, shouldn’t have too much trouble handling third. In spring, he’s been working on adjusting his game clock: He’s got to be quicker to field the ball, but he can be more deliberate in making his throw across the diamond.
The transition figures to be steeper for Polanco, who has played all of one pitch of his professional life at first base and is being eased into the spring slate because of his history of knee issues. (He played just 43 games in the field last season for Seattle, with most of his time coming at designated hitter.)
Defense is a little easier to gauge in spring than pitching or hitting. On the mound or in the box, a player might be working on a specific pitch or skill that detracts from their success in that moment. (For example, a pitcher might double up on a secondary pitch, or a hitter might spend a whole plate appearance trying to hit the ball the other way.) It’s harder to isolate a skill that way in the middle of a game defensively, and so it’s easier to get a read on a player’s progress.
More than anything, improving team defense was a paramount focus for the Mets this winter. If those two handle their conversions well, the infield defense should be a strength for New York.
The bullpen mix
With A.J. Minter sidelined until at least May, there is room for another arm in the back end of the Mets’ bullpen. Devin Williams is slated to be the closer with Luke Weaver and Brooks Raley as set-up men. Beyond that, veteran Luis Garcia has been a middle reliever most of his career. Huascar Brazobán pitched his way into and out of leverage appearances last summer for New York, but he has an option remaining. Tobias Myers will be on the team one way or another, Mendoza said. And if no starter gets hurt, that means Myers will come out of the pen. The Mets acquired 6-foot-9 lefty Bryan Hudson late in the winter. He doesn’t have minor-league options remaining and could serve as a second southpaw until Minter is ready.
It’s not often you see a non-roster invite with the track record of Craig Kimbrel. The Mets liked what he showed late last season in a cameo with the Houston Astros, and Kimbrel, with 440 career saves, obviously has late-game chops. Also, because he finished last season in the majors, has more than six years of service time and signed a minor-league deal, Kimbrel can opt out of his contract on March 21 if the Mets don’t put him on the major-league roster.
There are plenty of other names who can pitch their way into the conversation, even if it doesn’t end with an Opening Day roster spot.
For fans watching at home, pay attention to when relievers pitch in spring games. In general, the earlier, the better. That’s when you have a better chance of seeing an opposing team’s better hitters.
The potential bounce-backs and breakouts
The bottom half of the Mets’ lineup is a combination of players who have been good in the recent past or should be good in the future. The depth of the lineup depends on how they perform in the present. Semien and Luis Robert Jr. were getting MVP votes in 2023; each has endured two personally subpar offensive seasons since. A strong spring can create positive momentum.
Baty, Mark Vientos and Francisco Alvarez have all shown considerable promise in the last couple of seasons. Is it time for them to fully arrive? They’re not veteran enough yet for the spring not to matter. Solid production in the Grapefruit League can be a springboard for any of those three.
