Reese Kaplan -- Let's Take a Look at the Mets' Walking Wounded

With Spring Training now underway with actual competitive games being played it's beginning to feel more like baseball has returned for real.  Yes, there are questions to be answered about player health, player performance and the 22nd through 26th men who make the roster, but for now all teams are equally able to dream of October baseball without the fans collapsing into either giggling fits for the silliness of it or sheer wrath for how little has been done to ensure it will actually happen.  

As far as the Mets go, there are a number of health issues to watch.  In no particular order we have the following walking wounded:

Edwin Diaz is a true difference maker for this ballclub.  We all saw after his initial checkered rookie year in the National League he came roaring back with top of the bullpen and then later top of the league capabilities as a closer.  He's showing the knee injury appears to be fully healed and it's a reasonable expectation to believe he will return to the dominance he exhibited in 2022 and 2021.

Starling Marte is also apparently healthy now with the ability not only to play the field regularly but also to run with abandon and to swing the bat for both contact and power.  We all saw the kind of player he could be when he began his Mets contract in 2022 and while there's no guarantee he'll replicate those numbers this season the fact is that he was an All Star level performer in the past.  Too many people have written him off completely due to an injury-plagued year.  Did folks do the same for pitchers like Jacob deGrom or players like David Wright?  The talent is there for sure.  The trick is keeping them healthy.

Kodai Senga is obviously a major unknown at this point.  He could be fine after 4-6 weeks of rest and rehabilitation or he could have a more serious injury that will keep him out for a major chunk of the season.  He was better than expected during his introduction to American baseball in 2023 and was hoped to be heading this somewhat watered down staff.  For now the questions remain about who takes over his innings and for how long.  

Luis Severino can be a stellar pitcher when he's healthy and when he's not tipping his pitches.  Last season he was brutal and everyone hopes that in taking a buy-relatively-low flyer on him that they get the star level pitcher he once was.  For now he's another great unknown, working with a new pitching coach and a new organization.  No one knows how it will turn out but there have been long intervals in the past when he put everything together.  

David Peterson is a long no-show for the club due to his injury recovery.  Some folks like him.  Others feel he is somewhat a prospect unfulfilled by what he's done on the diamond.  For the next 60 days minimum he is a non-entity as he heals and hopefully becomes a part of the 2024 season story.

Ronny Mauricio is another lost cause for the 2024 season.  Yes, it's possible he could make a late year appearance if he heals well and if the club has a need due to injury or incompetence from the others taking his playing time, but don't count on him being a major factor.

There are relief pitchers on the roster who need to show they are capable of throwing regularly and without pain.  For now the whole subject past the intitial four top relievers is a wide open competition as the club didn't venture out much in this regard beyond Adam Ottavino's return and Jake Diekman.