Tom Brennan :1) Any Concerning Signs? 2) Mets’ Relievers Reality 3) Lindor Back-Up 4) Uncanny Canning

NEWSFLASH! 

DEPLETED METS CONDUCT PITCHER TRYOUTS! GO, GRANNY, GO!

BUT REALLY - ARE THERE CONCERNING SIGNS?

C’mon, these are the Infirmary Mets; of course they were never going to get through spring training without several concerning signs. These include:

The truly injured:

Francisco Alvarez had a too-high level strikeouts…11 times in 27 PAs. And then he stopped striking out - how? “The surgeon will see you now”. A freaky hamate bone injury requiring surgery, causing him to likely be out until at least the beginning of May. 

Don’t try to return before it is really healed, to keep it from becoming chronic, please. Torrens’ workload should explode. Hopefully, he can limit whoever his back up is to about 5 starts until Alvarez returns.

Sean Manaea (mid-to-late April return and hopefully no later), and Frankie Montas (mid-May return?) clearly hurts.  Thankfully, so far, Clay Holmes and David Peterson are crushing it, and Kodai Senga looks healthy. 

In fact, thru Wednesday, Holmes, Senga, Peterson, Megill, Canning and (including his last start only) Blackburn totaled 35 IP, a mere 13 hits, and one lonely run. Six man rotation, anyone?

Outfielder hitting woes:

Two key offensive pieces are somewhat injured - Nimmo (gel shot in cranky knee, and is his plantar foot really OK?) and Marte (another cranky knee, although he did DH and smack a double on Monday).  

 - Their absence would weaken the outfield offense considerably.

Really - do please avoid long term contracts to players where many of those contract years will be in their mid to late 30s.  Bad gamble.

Prospect hitting woes:

Well, Drew Gilbert and Ronny Mauricio were again MIA. 

Positive reports on both coming out of camp...but...Zero PAs.

And…

Almost all prospect hitters not named Simon Juan had batting averages akin to Twiggy’s scant weight. After a diet. 

And Juan is a 2026 arrival, at the earliest - he is still so young.

All in all, a very concerning Mets pre-season due to injuries, and disappointing in terms of prospects' lack of hitting.

BUT POSITIVE SIGNS EXIST

Alan Minter debuted with a scoreless inning. Very encouraging, in a 2-0 win where Paul Blackburn was razor sharp for 4 innings

Brett Baty and Mark Vientos through Monday had 52 PAs, just 6 Ks, and 4 HRs while hitting a combined .333.  I LOVE those low Ks. You, too?

There may be no room at the inn for Joey Meneses, but in 11 PAs, zero Ks, 4 for 10, a HR, double, and a walk, and some loud outs.  He seems to be this year's Jose Iglesias, as he may start out in the minors, but may not stay there.  Oh My Gosh!

I need to remind people (and myself) that before his lackluster 2024, in his first two belated MLB seasons in 2022 and 2023, Meneses hit .290 in 833 at bats, with 50 doubles, 26 HRs, and 123 RBIs.  All to say that I think he has hit, and is now hitting, like a real major leaguer, far better than our prospects.

My "Joey" from last year, Joey Lucchesi, is now with the Giants and has had 4 relief outings this spring with a 0.00 ERA.

And...MANY pitchers in camp (including many relievers) are really pitching well (at least thru Monday, as I write this on Tuesday AM).

Speaking of relievers:

HERE IS SOME METS RELIEVER REALITY FOR YOU:

If you are a Mets reliever, and you don't break camp with the team as one of the 7 or 8 relievers, be comforted, all hope is not lost. Why?

In 2024, 28 players pitched in relief. 

Let's leave out 3 of them - position players Luis Torrens and Eddie Alvarez, who were used once each in blow outs, and starter Tylor Megill, who threw all of 2 relief innings in a pinch.

That leaves TWENTY FIVE OTHER RELIEVERS USED IN 2024.

 - Ten of them had from 23 outings (Sean R-F) to 60 outings (Ottavino).

 - Six others had 8 outings to 19 outings.

Those two categories total 16 relievers.

Nine other reliever dudes who spuriously claimed to be pitchers got chances to relieve in 2024, and proved their "I'm a Reliever!" claims to be balderdash.   

All were pretty awful, as those 9 tossers combined for 38 innings while coughing up 49 runs.  BOMBS AWAY!  SEEK SHELTER!

The top 16 relievers in innings, though? They threw 511 innings and surrendered "just" 235 runs (earned and unearned). Not the best, but solid.

And 2024 was no fluke…

In 2023, they used 28 actual pitchers in relief.

I guess the moral of that story for David Stearns is to try to limit the number of pitchers in the bullpen this year to 16 real pitchers.  

(Easier said than done).

As a side note, through last Friday, one pen guy I pulled for last year, the traded Eric Orze, has had 4 relief outings with Tampa, with no runs, one hit, and one walk allowed, and 7 Ks.  Can we request a do-over?  

WHO BESIDES L.A. ACUNA COULD BACK UP FRANCISCO LINDOR?

L.A. Acuna is clearly the man to replace Francisco Lindor in a prolonged absence, as we found out when Lindor missed about 10 games last September and Acuna admirably stepped in with needed brilliance.

But a pragmatic mindset causes one to admit that Lindor patterns his game after former MLB SS Cal Ripken...as in, Lindor almost never sits.

Remember when a fastball deflected and hit him square in the mouth a few years ago.  Missed almost no time at all, as I recall.  Got his finger caught in a door?  Ditto.  "Let's play."

L.A. really needs to play daily in AAA to improve offensively - but who backs up Lindor at SS then, with Iglesias no longer around to do so?

How about Jeff McNeil, who manned SS for 37 games in the minors?

With that considered, unless Baty goes comatose over the remaining 10+ days of spring training and Acuna goes on a total tear, Baty is going to Queens and Acuna to Syracuse.  

And McNeil could back up at SS for a few games if needed. 

CANNING WAS UNCANNY

I have not been high on Canning, based on his past high ERA. But he sure pitched great on Monday night, throwing his hat into the ring for the 5th starter role. The more solid hurlers competing, the merrier.