Paul Articulates - Five Mets that need to show up big early

Spring training always begins with a great amount of optimism.  It doesn’t matter if you had a lousy record last year or won the World Series – everyone starts the new year fresh, and says they have a great chance.  I love that about baseball – a fresh start, the spring environment, lots of happy people.

Then reality sets in.  Not everyone gets off to a great start.  There are injuries where someone pushed it a little too far and a little too fast.  There are slumps from some subtle difference in mechanics that retrains the swing in the wrong way.  There are confidence lapses when it doesn’t start like the player expected it to – especially with the older players that worry about losing a step or a fraction of a second in reaction time.

To be clear, it is not my intent to rain on anyone’s parade.  Optimism is the theme of this season. But I will point out some players that have a very strong need to get off to a good start because if they don’t, the pressure will build quickly.  So who most desperately needs a good start?

1. Pete Alonso.  Last season was tough on Pete.  He wanted to perform at his absolute best in a walk year on a team where his role was to be the power hitter and the RBI guy.  Instead, he had a down year, and with every passing month, he pressed harder and harder.  He had some great moments, but the overall numbers were significantly down and it had a huge impact on his free agency.  After finally re-signing with the Mets he has now put all that pressure behind him and can go back to playing the game he loves.  

However, he really has something to prove – that he has not lost his ability as a feared hitter in the middle of the lineup.  His two-year deal with an opt-out was designed to parlay a big number season into the payday he wanted this offseason.  If he starts poorly with a low batting average and high K-rate, the pressure will build very quickly and begin to affect his state of mind.  Pete needs to stay loose and let his bat do the work.

2. Brett Baty.  Brett was a very highly regarded prospect, and his initial call-up in 2022 started very well – with a home run in his first at-bat.  He was becoming the player everyone thought he would be until he hit a slump.  He yo-yo’ed between the majors and minors a few times and as we all know, he just couldn’t get going and was eventually replaced at 3B by another prospect who made the most of his opportunity.  Now he is everyone’s trade bait as the fan base and the media seem to have given up on him becoming a star with the Mets.  

Brett has not given up that dream, and if he wants to turn it around, he has to have a very strong spring performance and when given the chance he needs to show he can consistently hit MLB pitching.  This is another situation where a good start is imperative.  Otherwise those mental demons will return to spiral his performance downward.

3. Jeff McNeil.  Jeff was the best bat-to-ball guy the Mets have had for a long time, and he rode that ability to a batting title.  Then he made one too many swing adjustments and had a down year in 2023 and started 2024 poorly.  A great last two months picked things up a bit, but coming into this season, he is a soon-to-be 33 year old second baseman on a team with several young infield prospects that want to earn playing time.  He won’t be able to stay on top of the depth chart with a repeat of last year’s .238/.308/.384 slash line.  He needs a really hot start to convince the Mets’ development staff to groom those prospects for a different position.

4. Clay Holmes.  Holmes put up a great season as a closer last year, but he wants to start and the Mets are willing to give him a shot.  He knows that he has to have early success to keep this experiment going.  Otherwise he will end up like Seth Lugo, who wanted to start but was considered by the Mets staff to be too good at relief.  

A hot start by Clay entrenches him in the rotation.  If he starts poorly and either Jose Butto or Tylor Megill shows promise, then the pressure will build quickly.  Holmes doesn’t need to go 18-1 to keep this job.  The real measure will be how he performs in the second time through the lineup and beyond.  

5. Jose Siri.  There is no doubt that Siri will impress Mets fans early and often with his glove.  That is where his reputation was built.  However, with Tyrone Taylor as a very capable back-up and with guys like LuisAngel Acuna and Jett Williams learning to play center field for an opportunity to break into the majors full time, Jose Siri will have to hit to stay in the lineup.  

His career .210 batting average and .266 OBP are not good enough to keep a starting job.  He probably has to hit .240 with a .350 OBP to avoid becoming a late-inning defensive replacement.

So there you have it.  67 players start the spring in major league camp, 26 go north on the active roster, and 5 have a lot to prove during the first few months of baseball.  I am eager to watch how their stories develop.