Well, Opening Day 2026 has come and gone and it’s time to compare what the New York folks put on the field at this time in 2025 during a season that ended in a hair over a .500 record and what the very first David Stearns-grown team looks like for 2026. Some are already true believers in the new Mets while others are bemoaning what has been lost. Let’s dive in a little deeper.
When the Mets faced the Houston Astros to begin the 2025 season here is the lineup that was put onto the field:
- SS: Francisco Lindor
- RF: Juan Soto
- 1B: Pete Alonso
- 3B: Mark Vientos
- LF: Brandon Nimmo
- DH: Starling Marte
- CF: Tyrone Taylor
- 2B: Luisangel Acuña
- C: Luis Torrens
Right away you see the folks no longer a part of the starting lineup equation. Pete Alonso is gone. Mark Vientos is on the bench. Brandon Nimmo is gone. Starling Marte is gone. Tyrone Taylor is a backup. Luisangel Acuna is gone. Luis Torrens is a backup. Or to spin it another way, only Francisco Lindor (injury and all) and Juan Soto remain from last season’s starting lineup.
Writing on my Thursday evening means that the Opening Day 2026 game has not yet been paid, but multiple sources project the new David Stearns lineup to look something like this one:
- SS: Francisco Lindor
- RF: Juan Soto
- 3B: Bo Bichette
- 1B: Jorge Polanco
- CF: Luis Robert Jr.
- DH: Brett Baty
- 2B: Marcus Semien
- RF: Carson Benge
- C: Francisco Alvarez
Here the top two positions remain identical to what was presented to the Astros in 2025. Then the big changes begin. Newcomer Bo Bichette starts his Alex Rodriguez-like transition from shortstop to third base. Jorge Polanco begins a non-paralleled transition from roaming infielder to first baseman. Newly arrived Luis Robert, Jr. takes over as a Gold Glove candidate to play center field with his bat still a bit uncertain. Former mostly third baseman Brett Baty is expected to keep his solid glove in his locker while appearing as DH. Gold Glove capable second baseman Marcus Semien joins the Mets for the latter stage of his career and people indeed wonder if the defensive acumen will make up for the injury-impacted diminished hitting from the past few years. The big wildcard is rookie Carson Benge who surprised a great many people by not only making the team but beating out now injured competitor Mike Tauchman for the right field role. Finishing up this lineup is now a hopefully fully healthy Francisco Alvarez behind the dish.
Missing from this comparison is the bullpen and the starting rotation. The Mets added Freddy Peralta to be their new starting rotation ace followed by familiar faces including an apparently healthy and capable Kodai Senga back once again. The shift of Sean Manaea from the 2025 IL to the 2026 bullpen is still a great unknown. Also a mystery is how Devin Williams responds to filling the very big shoes of Dodgers closer Edwin Diaz. Will Luke Weaver look like a dominant setup guy or will he resemble his last highly forgettable Florida appearance? Brooks Raley is a known commodity, but Dicky Lovelady is not. Luis Garcia is a long term veteran at the tail end of his career and one of he and Lovelady may be hitting the road when AJ Minter is deemed healthy enough for a normal workload. Add Huascar Brazoban into that pen mix and on thin ice as well.
So which team is better? It would appear that the offensive numbers produced by Bichette, Polanco, Robert, Jr., Semien and Baty will determine much of that analysis as will the rookie efforts of Carson Benge. It’s kind of hard to presume all will come up aces yet at the same time it’s an interesting and different type of offense than was presented in the past.
8 comments:
2026 is the better offensive squad. Less power, more clutch and relentless. I like what I saw yesterday.
Vientos (a starter last year who hit .212 in 28 March/April games) belongs in a bench role - lefty platoon. His failure to be more aggressive has benched him. Baty is better.
It's all about lineup depth
I think the offense and starting pitching is Better than last year I also think the bullpen is deeper, but we shall see about filling the Shoes of Diaz?
We thought the lineup had depth last year until we knew better. Right now we don't know better. We will live on hope for a few months until some questions are answered. Yesterday was such a fluky game that not much can really be determined.
I'm worried about the pen.
Late to game today. Yesterday was an example of how a lineup could look when it keeps the line moving. Lots of players contributing. That’s the model. We will see how it plays over time.
Side note: Robert & Benge need more time playing together to sore out gap balls.
Ray, an incredible 39 guys pitched for the Mets in relief last year. Let’s hope it is half of that this year. The pen may or may not be suspect. Time will tell.
Mets game tomorrow at 4 PM should be Cold…around 40 and windy.
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