The Mets have progressed far into their spring training schedule, and only have two weeks to go before breaking camp and heading home for that first series against the Pittsburgh Pirates. There have been many stories written about what might happen, and a few of them are coming true. Many others are not playing out as expected. The 26-man roster that will be published before opening day is starting to come into focus. Let’s recap what we have seen so far.
This week we have seen several personnel moves that are beginning to shape the competition for the final spots on the MLB roster on opening day.
• Jonah Tong was optioned to the Syracuse Mets – this aligns with the opinions of most of our writers, who projected that barring injury to several starters ahead of him, Jonah would work on his repertoire in AAA before being brought up later this season.
• Dylan Ross was optioned to the Syracuse Mets – his power arm will be refined in AAA before he is asked to perform in relief for the MLB team.
• Nick Morabito was optioned to the Syracuse Mets. There are so many outfield options for the Mets right now that Morabito can fine tune his game to get ready for a call-up. Nick saw action in five games with two hits in ten at-bats. This was clearly just a “show-me” appearance in spring training as several other prospective outfielders saw much more time.
• Jonathan Pintaro was optioned to the Syracuse Mets. He had a good showing, pitching in two games and giving up only 1 earned run in four innings. He will join a very strong starting rotation with Syracuse to begin the season.
There are certainly many more moves to come, so let’s look at the position battles remaining. I will start by referring back to my post right at the beginning of spring training where I laid out my expectations of how this would end up.
Starting Pitchers: RHP Freddy Peralta, RHP Nolan McLean, RHP Clay Holmes, RHP Kodai Senga, LHP David Peterson. None of these have changed yet. Peralta, Holmes, and Peterson have had very good showings and added to their expectations. McLean had one outing before heading to the WBC and it was superb. Senga is the only one in the projected starters group that has not impressed. The Mets have too much invested in him to give up now, but if everyone else stays healthy, Senga may move to SP5 and see less action. Of those that remain, Sean Manaea and Tobias Myers are capable of starting but will most likely begin in the bullpen to start the season. Pintaro and Tong were already optioned to AAA. Jack Wenninger had one shaky outing, recovered nicely in his next start, but will probably start in Syracuse in April. Justin Hagenman has not punched his ticket – I am surprised that he has not been sent to AAA yet. The real question mark that remains is whether Christian Scott makes the team. Scott has looked good in his return from injury, giving up one hit and no runs in three innings, but there is not much room in the rotation right now, especially with Manaea and Myers as long men in the pen. He could be a SP6, and if Senga falters Scott should be next up.
Relief Pitchers: 13 pitchers will make the roster. With five starters plus Manaea and Myers as long men, the remaining six will be closer Devin Williams, set-up men Luke Weaver and Brooks Raley, and three more. I think you can count on Luis Garcia and Huascar Brazoban to be on the list, leaving the final spot to be decided between veteran and future HOF pitcher Craig Kimbrell and big lefty Bryan Hudson. Kimbrell had a shaky start, but has pitched well in the last few outings. Hudson looks good, but needs to be dominant over the next two weeks to make the final cut.
Catchers: There was never a doubt that Francisco Alvarez was the starter. There was a long list of challengers to Luis Torrens as backup catcher, but Senger, Parada, Barnes, and Rortvedt did not hit enough to make the club.
DH: Mark Vientos will begin the season here despite hitting .077 and will have to earn his stay. Baty will take some platoon games against righties.
Outfielders: Carson Benge has been under the intense spotlight of the NY media as he vies for the right field position. How has he held up under the pressure? He has put up a .391 batting average and a .918 OPS. OK, it is too early for statistics to be significant, but Benge has been hitting, producing in the clutch, and fielding like he belongs. Short of an epic collapse over the next two weeks, he will start for the Mets in right. If he falters, Mike Tauchman has looked very good and could be a short term starter. AJ Ewing was not expected to be in the mix, but he has impressed with his hitting and his base running. I would love to see AJ in the mix, but the Mets will season him in Syracuse for now where he and Nick Morabito will be a very dynamic outfield pair. We saw some great moments from MJ Melendez, Ji Hwan Bae, and Cristian Pache but it may have not been enough. Who makes it? Soto, Robert, Taylor, Benge, and Baty.
Infielders: Bichette, Lindor, and Semien are locks. I just hope that Lindor does not try to come back too early from hamate bone surgery. You have read what I think about Polanco, but the Mets seem committed to start with him and live through the growing pains. If Lindor does not start on the IL, then there is one position left. Vidal Brujan has out-performed Ronny Mauricio, Christian Arroyo, Jackson Cluff, and a host of youngsters to take the utility spot.
David Stearns made his job really tough this year. He brought in a great amount of depth, and many of the players he acquired have shown well in the spring. Now he has to decide which of them to disappoint. This is a great problem to have.
No comments:
Post a Comment