The 2022 Mets had two offensive sinkholes in the lineup in catcher and designated hitter. They made an upgrade at the DH spot at the deadline and thanks to Daniel Vogelbach’s production, the Mets saw their final rank at the DH spot climb to 19th in MLB. That’s still not great but acceptable as one of your team’s weaknesses. They made no such move to upgrade catcher. Tomas Nido had a very strong September, with the fifth-highest OPS on the club that month, but it was still only enough to pull the catcher production for the season to a .569 mark. That ranked 26th in the majors and was definitely not acceptable.
Fans were somewhat placated with the knowledge that top prospect Francisco Alvarez was knocking on the door to provide some much-needed punch to the position. But the prospect-conservative organization had another plan in mind. During a very busy offseason, the Mets signed veteran backstop Omar Narvaez, who has been good with the bat in three of the last four full seasons. The one exception was 2022, when he posted just a .597 OPS, which was a dropoff of 146 points from his 2022 production.
The Narvaez signing was both good and bad. The good part was that it meant the end of the James McCann tenure with the Mets. McCann was not good in his two seasons in Queens and was one of the biggest missteps the club made since Steve Cohen took over. The bad news is that it delayed the arrival of Alvarez. There’s now the very real possibility that Alvarez will spend the entire season at Triple-A.
Narvaez missed a chunk of Spring Training as he played for Venezuela in the WBC. Alvarez got more time with the club than he might have otherwise, although his time behind the plate, his supposed weak spot, was limited. Allegedly, this was due to his ankle injury. When we did see Alvarez, he was no threat to win a Gold Glove. But he also wasn’t a disaster back there, either. In fact, his offense was worse than his defense in Grapefruit League play.
Meanwhile, Nido had a great Spring offensively and Narvaez was no slouch, either. Nido batted .359 with six of his 14 hits going for extra-bases. Narvaez had half the playing time as Nido yet in that brief span posted an .890 OPS. We know not to put a lot of weight on Spring Training performance. But all things being equal, it’s still preferable to see hitters do well whenever they’re in the batter’s box. We can dream that last year’s biggest offensive problem can move up to middle of the pack if Narvaez hits like he’s done in 2018, 2019 and 2021.
THE HUNT’S BEEN CALLED – In a decision that surprises virtually no one, the Mets have informed Tommy Hunter that he’s made the Opening Day roster. The veteran has been very good with the Mets in 30.1 innings over the past two seasons and has been lights out with his performance in Grapefruit League play, as he hasn’t allowed a run in 8 IP and has 1 BB and 9 Ks in those innings. And at age 36, Hunter will fit right in with 37-year-old Adam Ottavino and soon-to-be-38 David Robertson. Let’s wish good health to our super veteran relievers.
METS’ 3-4 HITTERS HAVING A GREAT SPRING – While their Grapefruit League seasons were interrupted by the WBC, both Pete Alonso and Francisco Lindor have raked when they’ve been in camp. These two are the biggest power threats in the lineup and that’s what they’ve delivered in spades in Florida. Alonso has 4 HR and a .677 SLG in 36 PA while Lindor has delivered 3 HR and a .629 SLG in 39 PA. Both had really good years for the Mets in 2022. Yet it seems like they’re both capable of giving even more this season.
FUTURE IS NOW FOR FORMER FIRST-ROUND PICK – Once again, the Mets are going to have to dive into their pitching depth to make their Opening Day roster. After losing Jacob deGrom in Spring Training last year, this time it’s Jose Quintana who will open the season on the IL and will miss at least half the season. The beneficiary this time is David Peterson. Last year Peterson made 19 starts and pitched well as a SP, posting a 3.86 ERA in 91 IP when used as a starter. It’s likely Peterson will make more starts than that here in 2023. And he’s had an excellent, if odd, Grapefruit League campaign, one where he’s yet to allow a run. Peterson has limited opponents to just 1 H but has given up 8 BB in 12 IP. That still comes out to a nifty 0.750 WHIP, which he’s buttressed with 13 Ks.
We hear so much about the Mets not having a strong pitching prospect on the cusp of the majors. But those complaints will be minimized if Peterson is able to establish himself in the rotation this year.
YOUNGSTERS MEET THEIR FATE – The Mets had sent down two of their big four prospects earlier but Brett Baty and Mark Vientos were kept in camp after Alvarez and Ronny Mauricio were farmed out. That led some to believe they were going to get an honest shake from the club in their attempts to make the Opening Day roster. Ha!
Citing the need to reach “development markers,” both Baty and Vientos were assigned to the minors. Many people thought that Baty had earned the third base job with his great camp. But the reality is he could have hit 1.000, made 20 eye-popping defensive plays and saved two kids from a burning building and he was still going to open the year in Syracuse. It seemed like Vientos had a better shot to crack the roster. Yet when you have veteran studs like Tommy Pham and Darin Ruf – there’s no room for a RH bench bat who could help Alonso and Lindor in the power department.
It will be a great day – for me, at least – when veteran has-beens need to meet “markers” instead of prized rookies. Hey, a boy can dream.
I believe that you should take the best players with you North. Ruf certainly doesn’t fit the mold. I think we will see Baty sooner than later.
The Mets didn’t want any rookies on the opening day roster. The off season moves telegraph their plans all along. They wanted to have a veteran in the beginning of the season and if they falter (or get injured) have good minor league players to replace, them even if the minor leagues player are better than the veteran. It is a conservative plan but it may not be the best plan. That said, let’s root for Guillerme, Nido, Pham and Ruf ( or Locastro?) to have a good season.
Anthony Volpe is now the rookie starting shortstop if the Yankees.
Baty should be in that same position at third.
The veterans Ruf and Pham actually hit their markers.
The only problem is that their markers were the GM’s related to the GM’s ego hits as opposed to accomplishments on the playing field.
Has a multi-million free agent winter signing ever been cut before opening day…for on the field spring training performance?
The answer is if Pham and Ruff don’t produce, the organization looks good giving them the veteran nod, and then some of the kids will get their chance. If they cut the vets and the kids flopped, then we’d be in big trouble with no one to turn to. If Escobar is closer to the April-August hitter, then Baty will get his call, to at least platoon. Since we are returning essentially the same position players, I think we still lack another HR bat to win those late inning games and give Pete some protection. I did laugh at loud at the veteran “studs” comment.
I dislike this mode of thought.
Who makes the roster should be based on what gives the team the best chance at success. Taking a veteran who you think has a 90% chance of failure over a rookie that you think has a 50% chance of failure seems daffy.
And if the rookie fails? Why, you have minor league vets in the system who can be promoted. You still plan on things going wrong and have a Plan B in place
This is a very good observation.
According to the New York Post, Ruf has been DFA this morning.
Tommy Pham is now on the clock.
Ruf played his way off the team by failing to achieve the back of his baseball card for his entire term with the Mets. The worst part is what they gave up for him: J.D. Davis and Thomas Szapucki. On the plus side – in years past the team would have held on to Ruf to justify the poor trade (and not wanting to lose the money). How long did it take to see Jason Bay clear out his locker? The beneficiary is Tim Locastro – a glove first outfielder. He provides insurance against a Nimmo injury and he can eat innings late in games as a defensive replacement in Left or Right. Eventually, Baty/Vientos will find their way to the Majors. If the Mets get off to a slow start, they won’t have to wait long.
I tried to look at things “Glass Half Full” with the Baty and Vientos announcements. Ultimately this may force two things I wanted the Mets to do that would not have happened otherwise.
1) Ronny Mauricio will be in the outfield. With defensive lead like Carlos Cortes on the roster it will likely have Mauricio in Center or Right as well.
2) Mark Vientos will hopefully get a shot at first. DH has value in both leagues but if Vientos shows he can field adequately anywhere, it’ll help.
The thing that bothers me most is that Grant Hartwig has looked so very good and, in my mind, should be in the bullpen.