Reese Kaplan -- The Mets Roster (Outside the Pen) Is Set

Which roster spots are perhaps open as the club initiates their Port St. Lucie Spring Training?

For now, the starting lineup is pretty much set in stone.  The order in which they appear in the batting order is unknown and how long they will play or succumb to a platoon partner is also uncertain.  However, most folks would agree that these folks can look for a long term lease in Queens if they don't already own housing in the vicinity of Citifield:

1B Pete Alonso

2B Jeff McNeil

SS Francisco Lindor

3B Brett Baty

 C Francisco Alvarez

LF Brandon Nimmo

CF Harrison Bader

RF Starling Marte

DH Mark Vientos

Things can an do happen during the preseason period which could affect this projection.  Injuries occur.  Batting slumps can and do happen.  Even roster changes could still take place.  No one is still 100% convinced that the Baby Mets will get a fair shake to show what they can do given the less than steady faith shown to them in 2023.

Next we have the bench full of players to spell the starters due to rest or injury:

Joey Wendle

Tyrone Taylor

DJ Stewart

Omar Narvaez

Here it would appear that these four folks are fairly certain and would bring the total of offensive players to 13 with the 8 positions, the DH and the 4 on the bench.

When it comes to the starting rotation, the names here are similarly fairly well assured, if not completely carved in stone:

Kodai Senga

Jose Quintana

Luis Severino

Sean Manaea

Adrian Houser

The eyes will surely be upon Senga witnessing his sophomore season in the USA and the new pitch he's allegedly got working.  Jose Quintana's injury risk will have folks watching him closely for any indications he's less than 100%.  Between injuries and throwing like a batting practice pitcher this past season you would likey agree that no one is completely sold on the upside of Luis Severino.  Sean Manaea and Adrian Houser are a bit more of the confirmation variety where there is less doubt about their future as part of the top five starting pitchers.

The bullpen, however, is not as ironclad when it comes to who will be there to support the guys who start the games.  Some are fairly certain but then it gets a bit murkier:

Edwin Diaz

Adam Ottavino

Brooks Raley

Jake Diekman

Here is where the great Spring Training battle truly begins.  There are several other pitchers on the roster who have shown periods of success in the sometimes distant past which the team hopes to recapture with input from Jeremy Hefner and the new pitching lab analytics.  On paper not many of them seem to jump out at you as having the team made at this mid February juncture:

Phil Bickford

Jose Butto

Shintaro Fujinami

Reed Garrett

Grant Hartwig

Max Kranick

Jorge Lopez

Joey Lucchesi

Tylor Megill

Yohan Ramirez

Sean Reid-Foley

Drew Smith

Michael Tonkin

Josh Walker

Here you have potentially four more names to select from the group of 14 vying for a flight to LaGuardia.  Some are familiar like fill-in starters Butto, Lucchesi and Megill.  As much as folks have faith in the top five in the rotation we can asssume there's still a need to keep some arms available due to inevitable injuries that happen.  Being stretched out means starting every 5th day, so the likelihood of one of this group making the bullpen is probably below 50-50.

Then you have the remaining 11 candidates for 4 openings.  While folks have seen Bickford, Garrett, Hartwig, Reid-Foley, Smith and Walker in the past, none are filling anyone with warm and fuzzy feelings as sure things for those 4th through 6th inning appearances that befall starters who get knocked out early.  

Finally, there are the newcomers who included the fireballing but wildly erratic Fujinami, castoff Max Kranick, former closer Jorge Lopez, Yohan Ramirez, and Michael Tonkin.  The new POBO David Stearns may give this group more leeway than the more familiar names as he brought them in whereas he inherited the previous group of relievers.  Consequently there is less value placed in familiarity nor previous Mets experience than you might have figured to strike a chord had Stearns chosen any of the previous half dozen candidates who have played in Citifield already.

For now it would appear that the bullpen would be the greatest probability of position battles compared to the offense and the starting rotation.