With Spring Training so close, and with players already arriving at camp, its time to focus down on a few battles that probably will go on during Mets Spring Training. These are not the only battles, this is more of a taste of what could and will probably will unfold this Spring. The first battle is that last rotation spot. With the rotation set with (but not in any order) Santana, Pelfrey, Maine, and Perez there is one last spot. Originally Redding was signed for that spot, and he is still the front runner for that spot but there are a few people that could take it away from him. Most notably would be Freddy Garcia, who could be a sleeper signing. The other is very young Jon Niese with his devasting curveball. The three of them will be watched closely. I still feel at this moment in time Redding wins out, but he will probably be on a tight leash, especially if Garcia impresses. Niese will most likely start the year in the minors, which is alright because he can still use some time to develop.
Second base shouldn't be much of a battle, but it could become one. Castillo has been getting in shape all winter and hopefully will do really well in Spring and have a good year at second. However, if he starts off slow, and stays slow, the Mets will have to see what are their other options at second. Although Murphy can play second, unless the Mets sign someone else to play OF, he will probably be staying there, so really, this is Castillo's job to lose.
The final battle is a battle on every team and that is filling out the bullpen. The Closer and Setup are assigned, which is nice because last year we started off setup by committee and ended with closer and setup by committee. Feliciano has sure spot and more than likely Sanchez will too, but who will fill it out? The Mets have signed a bunch of pitchers that havn't been making much news, and they will go for these last spots. Sean Green is one of the favorites and then come the younger guys vs the older guys. There will be attention on young guys like Parnell and Kunz, so we will have to see how it goes.
