As mentioned earlier, yesterday’s home crowd at Clover Park (7,394) just missed the record set in 2015 (7,444). Expect to see more scouts this afternoon, or just more attention by baseball professionals because of who the Mets are facing. Sandy Alcántara is making the trip to St. Lucie with the Marlins, pitching for the first time since Tommy John kept him out of baseball for all of 2024. This is a great opportunity for the Mets bats to get some reps against one of the best arms in baseball.
Three Things To Watch For:
- Max Kranik: The Marlins starter isn’t the only pitcher making a comeback from Tommy John. Max Kranik had the surgery in 2022 and hasn’t pitched in the majors since. He ended the season on the Mets Wild Card roster, just in case the Mets needed a pitcher for long relief. He’s coming off of a successful season in the minors where he pitched 70 2/3 innings between St. Lucie, Binghamton and Syracuse with a 3.82 ERA and 1.288 WHIP. Kranik is on the 40-man roster and will be battling for a bullpen spot / spot starter / long relief option this spring.
- Sandy Alcántara: The Marlin’s ace will finally return to the mound this afternoon after missing all of 2024 recovering from Tommy John surgery. In 2022 he was a Cy Young award winning, 8.0 WAR pitcher with a 2.28 ERA over 228 2/3 innings including six complete games. There have been rumors already this spring about the Marlins trying to move him to another team. There’s going to be a lot of eyes on his performance this afternoon.
- Hey Siri. The Mets new centerfielder makes his Mets spring debut this afternoon. Jose Siri has some serious pop and is a defensive wizard in the outfield. In 2024 he had a Baseball Reference defensive War of 1.6. If he can marginally improve with the bat, he could become an x-factor for the 2025 Mets.
Let’s Go Mets!
