Reese Kaplan -- As of Today, Who's Coming North for Opening Day?

Today the start of official Spring Training happens when practice turns to games and thoughts immediately drift to what type of team the Mets are going to put on the field when the real season kicks off in a little more than a month.  Everyone has their pros and cons over various personnel who may or may not make the squad, but you need to start somewhere.  Let’s see how it looks.

Starting Pitching

Freddy Peralta — The new ace needs to do one thing first which is to stay healthy.  The second would be to agree to an extension before hitting free agency.  We shall see.

Kodai Senga — If healthy he pitched like an ace.  Until proven otherwise his career American numbers are stellar.  What a huge boost he would be if he returns to that form.

Nolan McLean — Last season’s stellar performance was unexpected and people are counting on him to propagate that dominance across 30+ starts.  Here’s hoping.

Clay Holmes — This year he should have a bit more durability and arm strength as he is now a young veteran as a starting pitcher.  That would help a lot.

David Peterson — Cross your fingers and hope for the best.  He is likely the 6th starter in a five-man rotation as six won’t be needed with off days and rainouts in April.

Sean Manaea — Another one no one can predict with confidence, but if his new arm angles work for him then perhaps he’s once again a sub 4.00 ERA pitcher.

Onto Syracuse — Christian Scott and Jonah Tong

Relief Pitching

Devin Williams — David Stearns may be looking at his make or break choice here as Williams can be devastating to opposing hitters but last year was a huge red flag.

Luke Weaver — He bumps up in the hierarchy due to injuries.  The Mets are hoping for a 3.00 type of performance in a setup role.

Brooks Raley — When healthy he has been even better with the Mets than he was in Tampa.  We need his lefty arm.

Tobias Myers — Although they say he is a guy who can start and relieve, with 6 established starters already he’s likely a multi inning reliever unless or until major injuries hit.

Craig Kimbrel — It’s hard to turn away from a Cooperstown bound pitcher even at the tail end of his career.  One of the many AAAA types can be moved off the 40 man roster to give him a spot.

Bryan Hudson — While his career numbers are nothing flashy other than his 2024 season as a member of the Brewers, he is left handed and with A.J. Minter still on the mend he’s likely to make the trip north. 

Luis Garcia — A veteran hurler, Garcia is going to turn 39.  He’s appeared in as many as 72 games per season as a setup reliever and the durability is a greater asset than his career ERA slightly north of 4.00.  His spot is probably the most tenuous of this group.

A.J. Minter — Likely to start the season on the IL so as not to rush him back from his lat injury.  He’ll displace someone when he’s deemed fully ready and the weather is slightly warmer up north.

Infield

Jorge Polanco — The new infielder turned first baseman can hit though not at the cleanup hitting level of Pete Alonso.  If he adapts well defensively then some of the misgivings will disappear but he’s not a replacement by any stretch of the imagination.

Marcus Semien — A Gold Glove level defender who in the past has demonstrated a potent bat, his arrival was more about character and defense than run production.  We shall see.

Ronny Mauricio — The oft benched infielder should be in the starting lineup for the first 10-14 days of the season while hopefully the team gives Francisco Lindor adequate time to heal completely and exercise himself into game-playing readiness. 

Bo Bichette — The man can hit.  No one denies that.  Whether or not he can field better at third base than he did at shortstop is a great unknown.

Brett Baty — The man without a role could wind up as the left handed half of the DH role, a never-before outfielder or trade bait.

Mark Vientos — The right handed half of a DH role is about the only thing he can aspire to do on this team as it is currently constructed.

Francisco Lindor — The wise decision is to start him off on a short term IL stint like they should do with Minter to allow adequate time for healing and conditioning.

Outfield

Juan Soto — Back in left field, he earns his enormous paycheck with his bat, not with his glove.  Hopefully the bat and last year’s introduction of his legs continue to prosper as he crossed to the other side of the outfield.

Luis Robert, Jr. — Everyone knows what he can do with his legs and his glove.  The big questions remaining are his bat and his health.

Tyrone Taylor — He’s the textbook definition of great glove and no bat.  He is fine as a fourth outfielder or a late inning defensive replacement but should not be starting on a team with contending aspirations.

Mike Tauchman — A career .246 hitter, he’s another fourth outfielder at best.  However, with David Stearns having done not much to find a right fielder he may get more playing time than is appropriate.

MJ Melendez — A younger version of Taylor and Tauchman, he’s extrapolated to have 19 HR power over 162 games but still only has a career .215 batting average.  He did have a wondrous 2021 minor league season split between AA and AAA when he hit 41 HRs, drove in 103 while hitting .288.  In the majors he’s never come close.

Onto Syracuse -- As much as Carson Benge would have been a great story to take over right field at the major league level, he's had so little time in AAA that it would appear a month or more upstate is in order for him.

Catchers

Francisco Alvarez — After fighting injuries he ended 2025 while most of the team sleep walked through extended losing Alvarez turned in a hot August and September.  He’s theoretically revised his swing and folks are anxious to see that not only can he improve the batting average but also regain his previously demonstrated HR power.

Luis Torrens — He was a fine backup for the Yankees and has proven to be the same for the Mets.  If he’s playing a lot it likely means Alvarez is injured again.