With a re-designed core and many new players and a deep reserve of prospects, this year’s spring training will become an intriguing competition for spots on the opening day 26-man roster.
This series will take a look at the players that are in position to compete for a slot on that roster but are not a lock. We will look at the pros and cons of carrying them with the MLB team when they break camp with the alternative being depth and development pieces in the minor leagues.
Some players are very well established as MLB regulars that are not reasonable candidates for demotion, so for the purposes of this review the following list of players are considered locked down on the MLB Roster:
Infielders: Francisco Lindor, Marcus Semien, Jorge Polanco, Bo Bichette,
Outfielders: Juan Soto, Luis Robert Jr., Tyrone Taylor
Pitchers: Freddy Peralta, Nolan McLean, Clay Holmes, Kodai Senga, David Peterson, Devin Williams, Luke Weaver, Brooks Raley
Catchers: Francisco Alvarez; Torrens
Given this list, and MLB rules that allow only 26 players on the active roster from opening day through August 31st, and that a maximum of 13 pitchers can be listed among the 26 players, there will only be room to carry five more pitchers and five more position players beyond what is listed above.
Today we will take a look at the infielders that are vying for those five “contested” spots:
Infielders on the 40-man roster: Vidal Brujan, Brett Baty, Mark Vientos, Ronny Mauricio
Brett Baty – Baty has a strong shot at making the roster. He has been part of the active roster for four consecutive seasons. Although he has had his ups and downs over this period, his 2025 season was his best. He slashed .254/.313/.435 and played adequate defense at second base and very good defense at third. Baty would normally be part of the “sure thing” list to start the season, but with all of the reworking of the roster and re-vamping of the core, we take nothing for granted this year. My take is that Baty has a super spring training as he tries to show everyone that he can still be “the guy” at third.
Mark Vientos – Vientos, like Baty, has seen time on the major league roster in four consecutive seasons. His 2024 season was a break-out year for Mark. He displayed power, clutch hitting, and confidence that he belonged there. He came into the 2025 season as the incumbent third baseman, but his bat forgot to come with him. He plummeted from a 134 OPS+ in 2024 to a 97 OPS+ in 2025 and soon found himself sharing time on the field and in the lineup with a handful of other players. By season end, he was a part-time DH who many thought would be lost through an off-season trade. He is still here, and has the potential to demonstrate this spring that ’25 was a fluke. He has opportunities at both the DH and first base positions – my prediction is that he will make the team but his opportunity will be judged month by month by the front office.
Ronny Mauricio – Mauricio came up through the minors around the same time as Baty, Vientos, and Francisco Alvarez. Many thought that Mauricio had a very high ceiling because he has demonstrated both speed and power in his journey through the minors. His time on the big league club has not proven that out to date. He had some flashes of brilliance in the 2023 season, missed 2024 to a leg injury suffered in the winter league, and did little over 61 games in the 2025 season to show he was ready. If not for Lindor’s hamate bone surgery I would say Mauricio had no shot at travelling north with the club in late March, but Ronny is a shortstop by nature with quickness and range that no one else has with the departure of LuisAngel Acuna. If Ronny stays under control defensively and shows some proficiency in the batters box, he has a shot to make the active roster while Lindor rehabilitates.
Vidal Brujan – Vidal is another one of David Stearns’ insurance policies. He was traded to the Mets for cash by the Twins in this off-season. With only 3 years of MLB service, Brujan has plenty of team control remaining. He is a versatile fielder, having shown the ability to play several positions, including second base, third base, and both corner outfield positions. The infield is crowded with Baty, Vientos, and Mauricio fighting to stay on the roster, so Brujan’s play is his versatility to play both infield and outfield. Given that he is not out of options and the other three are, I would bet that Brujan will begin the season in Syracuse and yo-yo a bit to cover injuries.
Infielders not on the 40-man roster but with spring training invites:
The special invitees fall into two groups this year.
Rising prospects: Ryan Clifford and Jacob Reimer have been gaining accolades for their performance in the minor leagues with both possessing power bats. This is important because the Mets gave up some of their power in the off-season restructuring. Unfortunately, that restructuring focused on defense (run prevention) and neither of these two have distinguished themselves with the glove during their minor league careers. With the promise of a big league career with a team that is positioning for a championship, the motivation is high for them to work on their defense and show the fruits of their labor to the coaching staff. Look for both to begin the season in Syracuse, but with some hard work and a little good fortune, they each are within reach of the bigs.
New acquisitions with something to prove: Christian Arroyo, Jose Rojas, Jackson Cluff, and Grae Kessinger have all joined the club during the off-season through signing minor league contracts with invitations to spring training. All except Cluff have had a taste of the major leagues with very limited success. All were considered top prospects, so they have demonstrated talent at the minor league level that just has not translated yet. They are fairly inexpensive gambles for the Mets that have the potential to become depth pieces. I would not predict that any of the four will travel north with the team this spring, but could use time in Syracuse to hone their skills.
To summarize the infield battle, there are ten players vying for a spot. Baty and Vientos have a very high probability of success, Mauricio and Brujan have a moderate chance due to the Lindor injury, and the rest will use the spring as an opportunity to show what they can do for future consideration.
What is your read?
15 comments:
Games begin in a few days, and I imagine intrasquad games start today or tomorrow. The shake out is about to begin.
They have unproven players at both infield corners and no one in right field. Baty would be another unproven glove. Who is the DH?
He’s the deal: on every other team, a player with a bad year isn’t dragged through the mud. Pick a team, any team, that had Mark Vientos for 2024 and 2025. He would be the DH for 2026 or at least the front runner. On the Mets, their fans forget all about him because of a bad year. I understand it’s the off season but it’s hard to continuously read about the Mets shortcomings instead of looking at their positives and how those positives can be accentuated or improved. I don’t want to be complaining, but it’s spring. How can anyone say we don’t have a DH, when every team wants Vientos and just reading their blogs they are hoping to steal him?
Mets just signed Maike Tauchman to a minor league contract. If Benge is not ready he will be part of the opening day roster in RF.
Has a .356 OBP and around a 110 rating over the past 3 seasons. Perfect 4 or 5th OF.
Baty now PT DH, utility player, with Vientos sharing DH spot with Baty.
Agreed 100%. Vientos only goes in ST if there is a good trade to be had.
Paul, nice piece and just to offer, last night I read where Mendoza said that the Mets need Mauricio to play everyday in AAA and he has lost playing time. I don’t want to bring up the Mullins trade again and how it took out of the lineup a player that had a .856 OPS that month but I will say that watching highlights of Mauricio in early winter league action was painful. He had put on alot of weight and was visibly slow. His defense had zero focus and balls were going by him. I hope he worked that out and can reclaim a career as a very toolsy player that got hurt and then had a GM that overthought the process and needlessly hurt his team by benching a player just when he was starting to hit his stride. Let’s see what Mauricio looks like on Saturday.
The Mets will content for a division title this season. They have a lot of execution “variance” this year but variance breaks both ways.
Get excited everyone! It’s Spring Training!
Lol, can you believe the amount of brood around here?
I believe Mauricio still has an option left for this year?
Whichever does better in spring out Mauricio and Brujan is your SS for first month (please don’t rush Lindor, let him heal). Baty and Vientos 2 headed DH.
Tauchman and Benge in OF. Last spot up for grabs.
Maybe AJ Ewing for last spot? Nah let him get regular at bats in minors
Very “Wilpon-era” vibe.
Cohen is laser-focused on beating the Dodgers. He also said yesterday “…I can spend too”!!!
I’m super-excited for the season to start. Can’t wait, actually. I haven’t big expectations that are grounded in how this organization is progressing so fast.
First place is the primary baseline goal.
Mauricio needs to wake up. It’s now or never for him.
He needs to blow them away in ST & force an OD roster spot to cover for Lindor into April. Then stick or get some reps in AAA to be successful.
If he doesn’t make the lindor replacement, he needs to quietly go to AAA & crush it & force the call up or trade for a great piece at the deadline.
This year will clear the air for Baty, Vientos, Mauricio going forward. It’s been 5 years watching them break into the majors. Enough is enough.
Gus, agree. Guys will prove, or disprove, themselves this spring. It is THEIR careers to succeed or fail in.
Cohen is deeply disappointed that he here has been so little winning under his ownership. I don’t blame his n one bit.
It hasn’t been five years because they keep putting an obstacle in front of them. Baty really is the only one that they gave a clear runway to. Vientos has JD Martinez and had to play second fiddle to Baty because Alonso was entrenched. Mauricio had the injury and then had to sit on the big league bench. Kind of reminds me of Wilmer Flores and how the Mets never had full time room for him but other teams sure enjoyed his cheap services and let him play where he could excel. How come the Mets can’t do that?
Post a Comment