213 Miles From Shea

Buckle-up everyone! The Mets are about to play four games in the 30-ish hours! This afternoon the Mets have a normal spring training game against the Astros followed the MLB Spring Breakout game – a prospect only showcase that MLB started in 2024. Then tomorrow the Mets have a split-squad doubleheader. If we think of spring training in phases, tomorrow feels like the end of the second phase before camp starts to shrink again.

The Mets essentially play the same four teams during spring training and today is the second-to-last game against the Astros, with the last game happening on Wednesday the 19th. The Mets will then open the regular season in Houston, so a lot of Astros early in the season. This is actually the second time in three seasons where the Mets are opening the regular season against one of the four teams they played against all spring (2023 Marlins). This may change how both teams hide their pitchers from hitters today and on Wednesday.

Three Things To Watch For:

1. Tylor Megill. Megill is in a roster battle for the back of the rotation. With injuries to Frankie Montas and Sean Manaea, Megill is competing with Paul Blackburn and Griffin Canning for the two spots behind Holmes, Peterson and Senga. This probably means that Megill, if he makes the rotation, would fall out of the first series of the year against the Astros – so hopefully he gets a full start on the mound today rather than splitting time between the game and the back fields. Megill is off to a tremendous start this spring, allowing one run over 6 2/3 innings from four hits and two walks while striking out seven.
2. Brett Baty at second, again! Baty has already logged 27 innings at second this spring for the Mets (37 at 3rd). Today will be his sixth game at the position where he has had 13 chances so far, eight assists, four put outs and one error (no errors at third base for comparison).
3. Hayden Senger. With the Mets playing so many games over the next two days, everyone battling for the back-up catcher spot on the active roster should get another chance. Hayden Senger has struggled at the plate this spring, going 2-for-12 with a run scored and two walks. He has not recorded a hit in March and the last time he walked was on March 2nd (he’s has also only played three games since the 2nd and five games total in March going 0-for-6).

Let’s Go Mets!

There are ten days left in spring training and the Mets have eleven games to go. Over those eleven games they will play the Nationals four more times! If you’re worried about over exposure, the Mets and Nationals won’t meet up in the regular season until April 25th. This is the exact opposite scenario the Mets face with the Astros, who they still have to play twice in the next 10 days before heading to Houston for Opening Day.

Anyway, with no need to hide regulars on the mound, the Mets will send out their 2025 Opening Day starter, Clay Holmes, to take on Nationals in a Saturday evening spring training clash!

Three Things To Watch For:

1. Clay Holmes. Over three starts this spring Holmes has pitched 9 2/3 innings allowing no runs and scattering two hits and four walks. More impressively he has already racked up 13 K’s. The deepest he has gone in a game so far is 3 2/3 as he continues to stretch himself out. We’ll be looking at his pitch count today to get a sense of how many more starts or bullpens he’ll need to get ready for Opening Day.
2. Edwin Díaz. The Mets are decreasing the time between Díaz outings as he continues to get ready for the high leverage cadence he’ll need in a couple of weeks. Today’s outing comes only two days after his last (Thursday)! Since his difficult spring debut, Díaz has allowed a hit and two walks, but no runs over two innings. He’s also struck out five batters.
3. A.J. Minter. Today is the day for high leverage relievers! A.J. Minter is scheduled to pitch in his second spring training game. He looked good in his first game striking out a hitter and allowing nothing in one inning. Minter is coming off of a hip surgery late last season and his goal is to be ready for Opening Day. His first outing was a significant step in making that a reality.

Let’s Go Mets!

The Mets return to our television sets tonight against the St. Louis Cardinals. SNY last carried a Mets game on Monday and coverage of games since then has been sparse – including yesterday’s game where there was no TV, no radio and limited Gameday coverage.

What a game for television coverage to come back for! Kodai Senga will make his second start looking to build on his first start where he allowed two hits and nothing else over two innings while striking out two batters.

Three Things To Watch For:

1. Brett Baty at Second. Jeff McNeil has an oblique injury that will cause him to miss the start of the season. There’s now an opening for Brett Baty to not only make the team but be the team’s starting second basemen on Opening Day. So far this spring Baty has gone 10-for-27 with two doubles, two homers, three walks and seven runs scored. He has a 1.100 OPS over 30 plate appearances.
2. Joey Meneses. Meneses has a long path to the Mets roster. As a non-roster invitee, he has to pierce through both the active roster’s depth, players that are out of options and all of the players on the Mets 40-man who can play first base if needed. Meneses has been solid so far this spring going 4-for-13 with a double, home run, walk and three runs scored in only 13 plate appearances. There is still an eternity (13 days) until Opening Day for Meneses to keep pushing through.
3. Tyrone Taylor. I don’t have any stats to back this up, but it felt like Tyrone always came through in the clutch for the Mets in 2024. Last season he had a .701 OPS and 99 OPS+, pretty much exactly what you want from your 4th/5th outfielder type player. He is not off to a strong start this spring though, going 2-for-23 at the plate with a .174/.269/.261. It would be great to get Tyrone on a hot streak tonight!

Let’s Go Mets!

Every Mets home spring training game in 2025 has been against the Cardinals, Nationals, Marlins or Astros – until today! The Red Sox make the trip across Florida to face the Mets. For the Mets, it is the first of three home games (Rays on 3/17, Yankees on 3/24) against “new” opponents. Finally!

We are the part of spring training now where roster players and players in serious roster battles are seeing a significant portion of playing time in games. The results of the game still don’t mean anything, but they are becoming a better reflection as to how the team is doing. The Mets have won four of their last five and the Mets allowed all seven runs in their one loss late in the game.

It feels like the Mets are starting to click and players are building off of each other’s performances. In their last three games Griffin Canning, Tylor Megill and Paul Blackburn have made back-to-back-to-back amazing starts. David Peterson looks to keep that going this afternoon!

Three Things To Watch For:

1. David Peterson. Peterson has allowed two hits, two walks and nothing else over seven innings spread over two starts this spring. He has also struck out seven batters. We are watching today to see if he can just keep up with numbers he has already put up this month.
2. Edwin Díaz: Díaz is scheduled to pitch in his third game today. His spring debut was rough – he allowed allowed two runs on two hits and a walk. He was missing the zone and generally looked off. A few days later he looked better-ish. On the positive side he struck out the side. But, Díaz also walked two batters. Today we are watching for Díaz to have a clean, stress-free inning.
3. Brandon Nimmo. Nimmo returns to the lineup as the DH today! Nimmo is coming back from a knee injury. He received a gel injection about a week ago and was shut down from baseball activities for a few days after. Playing today is a significant step in getting ready for Opening Day!

Let’s Go Mets!

The Mets have three major battles in camp right now: back of the rotation, backup catcher, and super-utility. All three battles have been exasperated by injuries so far this spring. In Tuesday’s game Hayden Senger and Chris Williams both got opportunities to move up the depth chart for back up catcher. They combined to hit 0-for-3 with two strikeouts. Tylor Megill continued to make his case for the rotation with four scoreless innings of work. Acuña got a solid amount of playing time, going 2-for-3 with his first extra base hit of spring.

These roster battles will continue today. Acuña will get his second straight start at second base. Paul Blackburn will look to rebound from his last tough spring outing. Spring Training ends in two weeks and there are some big questions left!

Three Things To Watch For:

1. Paul Blackburn. Time is running out for Paul Blackburn to make his case. Tylor Megill and Griffin Canning have both had tremendous springs. Blackburn has allowed seven runs, six earned, off of eight hits including two homers and four walks over 4 2/3 innings spread over three games. He needs a strong, clean start today.
2. Luisangel Acuña. What do the Mets do at second base? Luisangel is fighting to be the bench second basemen who could possibly overtake McNeil at some point this season. Acuña had productive, season defining week when he filled in for Lindor for a couple of weeks in September in 2024. So far this spring he has gone 6-for-23 at the plate with a double and two stolen bases. What does he do with his second consecutive start?
3. Starling Marte. Marte gets his second start of the season today for the Mets. He doubled in first at bat in his first game this spring, eventually scoring a run. Marte will be in a platoon DH position most games this season, splitting time with Jesse Winker on days when Soto, Siri and Nimmo start in the outfield.

Let’s Go Mets!

The Mets will try to extend their winning streak to four games this afternoon and return to .500! On Monday night the Mets had arguably their best game this spring, beating the Cardinals 8-0 and outhitting them 12-3. Juan Soto went 2-for-3 with his third home run of the spring. Mark Vientos added in an oppo taco for his second homer.

The position player star of the night went to Luis Torrens who both hit a home run and picked off a runner. Today Hayden Senger will try to move up the depth chart. It isn’t clear who the number two catcher behind Torrens will be and unless the Mets bring in another catcher, this is now an open position battle.

Griffin Canning had a fantastic night on the mound, pitching 3 2/3 scoreless innings allowing one hit and five strikeouts. He is competing against today’s starter, Tylor Megill, for one of the last spots in the rotation.

Three Things To Watch For:

1. Tylor Megill. In Megill’s first spring start he allowed one runs from two hits and a walk over 2 2/3 innings. Megill is one of Eno Sarris’ candidates for a breakout 2025. If you sort pitchers last year by the size of their arsenal and their stuff+, Megill ends up third on the list behind Wheeler and Schwellenbach. Its only his second start of the spring, so we’ll be watching for both how deep into the game he goes and how much of his arsenal he throws.
2. Nola McLean. The Mets two-way prospect became a full time pitcher in June of 2024. He turned heads in Brooklyn with a 2.89 ERA over seven starts. He held his own in Binghamton with a 4.19 ERA over 18 starts and 81 2/3 innings. He has a mid-90’s fastball and a mid-80’s sweeper with a ton of movement. There is a chance that McLean makes his major league debut at some point this season.
3. Hayden Senger. Senger has been invited to Mets camp for multiple years in a row. Right now the Mets only have one healthy catcher on the 40-man roster, so if there ever was a time for Senger to make noise its right now. So far this spring he has gone 2-for-8 at the plate with a run scored, two walks and three strikeouts over six games.

Let’s Go Mets!

Sunday was a day of highs and lows in Mets world. The Mets announced before the game that Francisco Alvarez needed surgery in his hand would be out for at least 6-8 weeks. Every spring training game now is even more important from a catching perspective as the Mets try to figure out who is next up on the depth chart. As of writing, the Mets have not signed anyone, and there is only one catcher, Luis Torrens, on the 40-man roster. There is now an open competition between Jakson Reetz, Hayden Senger and Chris Williams who are all still in the Major League camp (Kevin Parada was cut about a week or so ago).

The highs yesterday all came from the game. Clay Holmes got stretched out to 67 pitches, shutout the Nations over 3 2/3 innings. Jakson Reetz hit a grand slam. Mark Vientos hit his first home run of the spring. The Mets look to keep the on field success going tonight as they search for their third win in a row.

Three Things To Watch For:

1. Griffin Canning. Canning is competing for the last spot in the rotation or to be the sixth starter if the Mets decide to roll with six after the first two weeks of the season. In 1 2/3 innings this spring, he has allowed two hits and a walk but no runs while striking out two batters. Canning was raving about the pitching lab when he signed with the Mets. At the end of 2024 he added a sweeper and he is also tinkering with a new sinker. We are watching today specifically for these pitches and how hitters handle them.
2. Starling Marte. Marte makes his spring debut as the DH this evening! With the signing of Juan Soto, Marte will be in a DH platoon with Jesse Winker, with both players finding time in the field depending on whether Brandon Nimmo is playing in center or in a corner spot. There was some chatter about trading Marte throughout the off-season and it’s still a possibility.
3. Luis Torrens. Given the news over the weekend about Alvarez, Luis Torrens becomes that much more important for the Mets in 2025. He had to do this last season to when Alvarez missed serious time after a ligament surgery. In 2024 he hit .229/.292/.373 with an 89 OPS+ and a 0.7 bWAR. If he can hit near a league average OPS+, the Mets should be able to tread water until Alvarez comes back.

Let’s Go Mets!

Alex Ramírez has already been reassigned to minor league camp. The Mets prospect has had a long history with the Mets from being a former top prospect to minor league free agent this past off-season. Before the 2023 season he was even a top-100 prospect in baseball ranked #92 by Baseball America, #101 by Baseball Prospectus and #96 from MLB Pipeline.

Alex Ramírez has seen his stock fall, but he’s only 22-years old. When he played in Binghamton last season he was 2.7 years younger than the average player. At every level he’s played in the Mets system he has been between 2.2 and 3.5 years younger than the average player in the league.

Things got tougher for Ramírez in terms of depth position over last couple of years. Earlier this spring the Mets acquired Alexander Canario who is out of options and instantly jumped above all outfielders on NRI deals on the depth chart. Over the last several seasons the Mets have acquired or drafted a slew of outfield prospects (many who play infield too) including Drew Gilbert, Ryan Clifford, Carson Benge, Jett Williams and Eli Serrano III. Plus the Mets are still figuring out where to play Luisangel, Brett Baty and Ronny Mauricio. There’s just a lot of traffic in front of Ramírez.

Ramírez needed to make a statement this spring, but didn’t really. As of writing he has gone 3-for-15 with a walk over eight games, striking out seven times. This is after a year in Binghamton where he slashed .210/.291/.299 over 124 games.

In 2022 Ramírez hit .281/.346/.436 over 121 games with 11 home runs, 30 doubles and 21 stolen bases. He’s still chasing the success from this year. Here’s hoping he get off to a fast start this season and reignite his prospect status.

The Mets look to build off yesterday’s win, their first win a week, this afternoon against the Washington Nationals. The last time the Mets won consecutive spring training games was Friday 2/28 and Saturday 3/1. While the wins themselves are not important, the individual performances behind the wins are. Juan Soto went 3-for-3 at the plate with a double. The team as a whole went 3-for-8 with runners in scoring position. David Peterson tossed four scoreless innings in his second start of the year.

The Mets rotation has been hampered by injuries so far this spring. They are going to need their back of the rotation arms like Peterson, and today’s starter, Clay Holmes, to step up and fill in the gaps until everyone gets healthy. Peterson showed us he was up to the challenged yesterday. Clay Holmes has already shown us this spring he can handle it, lets hope he continues to do that today!

Three Things To Watch For:

1. Clay Holmes. Holmes is off to a terrific start this spring allowing one hit and one walk with no runs over six innings of work. He’s faced only 20 batters over six innings and struck out five. Today we are watching to see if the Mets stretch him out a bit beyond three innings. One of the major questions around Holmes is how deep he can go into games coming off of a standout season in the bullpen where he rarely tossed more than 30 pitches.
2. Alexander Canario. The Mets acquired Canario early during spring training and need to figure out both if they want to keep him and if they can. He does not have any options left, so if the Mets want him they need to put him on the active roster at the end of camp or find a way to sneak him through waivers. Over five games this spring he has gone 2-for-13 at the plate with a double and two walks. In only 15 games with the Cubs last season he slashed .280/.357/.440 with a 125 OPS+.
3. Eli Serrano III. Serrano gets the rare start this afternoon for the Mets. He has had only one at bat this spring so far (0-for-1). Serrano is the #19 prospect on the Mets here at Metsmerized. Drafted last year, Serrano hits the ball hard. MLB Pipeline has him making the majors in 2027. Seeing players get an extended look in a spring training game, despite being a couple of years away is one of the best parts of March baseball!

Let’s Go Mets!

The team results don’t matter in spring training, but it would be nice for the Mets to get back in the win column tonight. The Mets beat the Rays last Saturday 10-1 and haven’t won since. Friday night the Mets lost 5-4 to the Nationals, which broke a three game streak of the Mets only scoring one run. The box scores are just nicer to look at when there’s some hitting in them!

Three Things To Watch For:

1. David Peterson. Peterson makes his second start of the season today! Peterson looked good in his spring debut allowing one hit and nothing else over three innings while striking out three batters. He took a massive step forward in 2024 pitching 121 innings with a 2.90 ERA, 136 ERA+ and a 2.9 bWAR (all career highs!).
2. Reed Garrett. Reed Garrett has already pitched in three games this spring. No hits, no walks, no runs, no problems. Garrett was a major surprise for the Mets in 2024. Pause and take a quick guess – what percentile was Garrett’s whiff% in 2024? How about his BB%? Last year he was in the 97th percentile for whiff% (very good!) and 7th for BB% (not good!). So far this spring he hasn’t walked anyone – can he keep that up today?
3. Yacksel Ríos. Ríos was the last name listed on the Mets game notes for scheduled pitchers as he continues to try find a way on to the Mets roster this spring. Over two games this spring he has allowed one run from 1 1/3 innings from three hits and two walks. Ríos had a solid season in Syracuse last year with a 3.30 ERA over 27 games and 30 innings.

Let’s Go Mets!