Reese Kaplan -- Start the Games Already! We Need News.

So what are some of the headlines coming out of Port St. Lucie that we’re being asked to consider for the upcoming 2020 season?

Edwin Diaz, with the help of Pedro Martinez, has recommitted to what got him to the desired point of acquisition last year before his implosion in Queens (and all of the visiting ballparks).  Obviously he didn’t accomplish what he did in Seattle with mirrors, so there was some practice, health concerns and reengineering of the pitching process that together might develop into All Star form once again.

On the subject of bullpen, Jeurys Familia arrived in camp looking like he’d auditioned for the poster-child for any famous weight loss clinic.  The stories out of camp are the usual “throwing hard” and “dominating” contexts. If somehow Familia and Diaz are back in the saddle, then the Mets have a lot more potential this coming season than they did last year.

The third bullpen story out of south Florida is the broken pinkie toe on Seth Lugo who apparently lost a hotel room battle with his ottoman.  The narrative is that it’s a few resting days until he’s back pitching off the mound and there’s no long term concern, but injuries are always unpredictable, particularly for a guy accustomed to pushing off his foot to develop his delivery pattern.  Let’s hope for the best.

Another interesting debate is how to find room in the lineup for both Jeff McNeil and JD Davis.  Both have the bats that deserve to be in the lineup every day, but there are positional issues that need to be addressed.  No one is wary of having McNeil man third base while Robinson Cano attempts to reconnect with his successful (if PED-enhanced) past.  Davis is a DH in the National League. If we assume he would do less harm in LF than at 3B, then we have a solution to our problem, if not for…

Dominic Smith is another conundrum.  He is blocked at 1st base by the current Rookie of the Year who only managed to have 53 HRs and 120 RBIs when he wasn’t tearing off his own or his teammates’ jerseys.  Smith is at best OK in left field. He is a left handed hitter to JD Davis’ right handed slugging. Will they platoon? Will one win the role outright?

Or will left field be handed to old-time incumbent Yoenis Cespedes?  Lots of stories and video history has been devoted to what he’s doing with the bat, but even the manager and GM have been pretty skeptical about what he’s capable of doing in the field and when forced to run.  Cespedes was never a Roger Cedeno speedburner, but he will need lateral movement back to man the outfield since, as we already mentioned, 1st base is presently occupied.

There are other stories, of course...Brandon Nimmo’s health, 4th/5th starter pitchers, Jake Marisnick’s frequent condemnation of his former Astros’ teammates’ behavior, Non-Roster-Invitees grasping at the last straw to remain in the big leagues (think Rene Rivera and Matt Adams types).  There’s the last gasp of roster-member Tomas Nido. There’s the neverending interest (if not ability) of Tim Tebow. Finally, there are questions about the new on-the-field management types to see if they have a positive, negative or neutral impact on the players.  

Finally, there’s the whole roster stagnation during the impending sale of the Mets franchise due to the financial plight of the WIlpon family.  We all know the Saul Katz desire to get out. There’s the aborted Steve Cohen deal. There are rumors of other interested buyers like A-Rod and James Dolan.  This saga has the potential to swirl into multiple bad sequels to a Sharknado movie.