Paul Articulates – Spring in the air

OK, it’s still the first week in January, but the weather is unusually warm in New York right now, so baseball fans naturally think it must be close to spring.  I’m one of them, and I am looking forward to spring training, the 2023 regular season, and hopefully more.

The Mets have been one of the busiest teams in the off-season.  One would have expected that because of the number of players who became free agents at the end of the 2022 season, but it has been enhanced with some very aggressive deal making by the front office.  There are many that believe that the wheels are still churning on more than just the Carlos Correa contract, expecting that more moves will be made.

In just the last two weeks, the Mets have signed reliever Adam Ottavino, utility infielder Danny Mendick, and catcher Omar Narvaez.  They also traded James McCann to Baltimore, released Yoan Lopez, and DFA’ed William Woods.  That made for a busy week on top of opening Christmas boxes.

Assuming the Correa deal is finalized – and all indications are that it will be – the Mets have an interesting active roster heading into spring training.  There are 22 pitchers, 10 infielders, 4 outfielders, and a pair of designated hitters.  There are also plenty of minor league players who will also receive invites to spring training so player development can determine where they stand.  Let’s look at the list in a little more depth:

Pitchers:  22 active pitchers include eight potential starting pitchers, thirteen relievers, and everyone’s favorite closer.  I am pleased to see that there is a little more emphasis on left-handed pitchers this year, as the group includes two lefty starters, and three lefty relievers.  This will give the team more opportunity to create tactical advantages in the late innings.

Starters could include: Max Scherzer, Justin Verlander, Kodai Senga, Jose Quintana, Carlos Carrasco, Tylor Megill, David Peterson, and Jose Butto.  Early favorites would be the first five, with Megill and Peterson likely to play long relief and spot starter roles, and Butto to begin the season in AAA.  But anything can happen, so don’t lock down your lineup cards yet.

Infielders: 10 active infielders include a potential all-star group of Alonso, McNeil, Lindor, and Correa.  They are backed up by a healed Brett Baty, Eduardo Escobar, newcomer Danny Mendick, Luis Guillorme, and Mark Vientos.  Yes, that is not a typo – Vientos is listed on the official Mets roster as an infielder.   This is a tough group to be listed in, as the first four have all been MLB all-stars; Escobar was last year’s starting third baseman for most of the season; Guillorme is arguably the best defensive player of the bunch; Baty is the highly regarded prospect; and Mendick was acquired for a reason.  So where does Mark Vientos find innings?

Outfielders: 4 active infielders is a little thin going in, and Khalil Lee is certainly not a lock to make the April roster if he has not worked out his contact issues from the last couple seasons.  Marte and Nimmo are not 162-game iron men.  Both have spent time on the IL every season in recent memory.  The Mets do have guys like Travis Jankowski and Terrance Gore on minor rosters right now, and Ruf has played plenty of outfield in his career.  I would expect some dynamics on this list before the spring session even starts.  Certainly Vientos has been mentioned as a possible left fielder.  And then there is that player to be named later from the McCann deal with the Orioles.

Catchers: There are not enough home plates on the field to keep everyone happy.  Omar Narvaez is a former all-star who is a highly regarded defensive player.  Tomas Nido won a gold glove last year behind the plate.  Francisco Alvarez is the highly regarded prospect that everyone has wanted to see.  And there is a guy that will be roaming the outer fields in St Lucie named Kevin Parada that is going to be knocking at the door very soon. 

Designated Hitters:  The list looks eerily similar to the list of DHs that we had last year, and everyone had that position high on the list for upgrade.  I would also look for some dynamics here. You have too much power in Alvarez’ bat to expect him to learn the art of catching by watching others.  Vientos was brought in as a DH at the end of last season, unfairly thrust into a pressure packed period for his debut.  Buck could decide to DH by committee with his plethora of infielders, but I’m sure that Billy Eppler still has this position on his to-do list.

So there it is – 38 guys on a way-too-early look at the competition to wear an MLB uniform on the 30 of March.  It should be quite a ride.