Here are the five biggest positive things from Spring Training so far:
1. Luis Severino allowing just a solo homer in 9 IP
2. Edwin Diaz retiring all six batters he’s faced
3. Francisco Alvarez with 8 CS
4. Pete Alonso with a .289/.400/.579 line
5. A half dozen relievers fighting for jobs in the back half of the pen who have been posting good numbers
Here are the five most-troublesome items from Grapefruit League play so far:
1. Starling Marte‘s .335 OPS in 34 PA
2. Harrison Baders‘s .580 OPS versus RHP despite a .308 BABIP
3. Adrian Houser‘s 4.03 FIP/5.25 ERA despite a 14 K, 1 BB performance
4. DJ Stewart with 1 XBH in 36 PA after closing 2023 with 1 XBH in his last 54 PA
5. Brandon Nimmo‘s 26.5 K% with a .067 ISO
Yes, Spring Training numbers don’t matter. Yes, these are all small samples that can turn around before the team leaves Florida. Yes, I can’t wait for the regular season to begin.
*****
Christian Scott gets the start today when the Mets face the Marlins in an away game. Hoping that the Marlins start a representative MLB lineup to see how Scott fares.
The Mets optioned Jose Butto to Triple-A Syracuse on Wednesday, Mike Puma of the New York Post reports.
Ahh crap, re: Butto. It does make sense though, let him start and hopefully impress in Syracuse. If Houser continues to struggle, I expect him to be replaced by Butto eventually. Of course, I expect everyone in the rotation to be on a shorter lease if other options are available to bring up.
Stewart should not be on the team opening day, nor Marte for that matter. Bader should not be a starter either. I expect come May that all this will be true if (big if), Syracuse OF’ders are tearing up the league.
I wish/hope that Nimmo & McNeil don’t spend April stinking up the joint and that Lindor gets hot soon! The most pleasant development has been Alvarez’s arm/defense behind the plate and his learning the English language.
I can’t imagine which Syracuse OFs might tear it up by May enough for that to happen. Gamel and Thompson are already showing us that they’re simply not MLB-caliber talent at this point. Kohlway is even further down the list. Brandon McIlwain looks like a boy among men in the spring games he has played. And six or eight weeks is not enough time to determine Drew Gilbert’s readiness, no matter how well he hits.
Geeesh,it’s just ST fellas! Lo0k at who’s playing!
Christian Scott’s sweeper looked insane today. His release point chart (from Matthew Brownstein) was Degrom-esque. Future stud.
Today, Scott got the win pitching four excellent innings. Pitching four excellent innings…. I have noticed that wins are going to starters pitching three or four innings this spring. Was there a rule change? Where did this come from?
I believe I heard yesterday that the rules did change to award wins to starters going less than 5 innings.
It was a positive Spring. If Severino and the backend of bullpen continues to be good then the pitching will be above average. If Baty and Vientos maintain their hitting (700+ OPS) then the offense should be presentable. Vientos homerun power is a positive. Nimmo, Alonso, Lindor, Alvarez, McNeil, Vientos, Baty, Bader/Taylor, Marte would be my April lineup. Taylor has an even spit so he could get the start against RHP for the majority of the time against RHP. Bader against LHP and sometimes RHP. Marte who is an excellent base stealer , would be batting in front of Nimmo and should generate more runs.
A positive Spring generates hope.
“Marte who is an excellent base stealer , would be batting in front of Nimmo and should generate more runs.”
Metsense, thank you, thank you, thank you!!!!!!! Exactly how I feel, but some disagree. Like it’s Nimmo’s birthright to always lead off. If, i f, Marte can get back to his 2022 form or close to it, Nimmo’s patience will give Marte tons of opportunity.
Hold your horses Tex. Marte would be batting 9th not 1st. I wouldn’t bat Marte 1st anytime. He doesn’t have an OBP that is high enough to warrant that 1st place in the batting order.
From Rotoworld, this is bad:
“According to the Los Angeles Times, Shohei Ohtani’s representatives on Wednesday accused his now-former interpreter, Ippei Mizuhara, of engaging in a “massive theft” of funds to place bets with an alleged illegal bookmaker who is the target of a federal investigation.
Bill Shaikin of the Los Angeles Times adds that Mizuhara was fired by the Dodgers on Wednesday, according to a team spokesman. The initial Los Angeles Times report states that, according to multiple sources, the Japanese superstar’s longtime interpreter allegedly stole millions of dollars. ESPN’s Tisha Thompson adds that Mizuhara was fired after questions arose surrounding at least $4.5 million in wire transfers sent from Ohtani’s bank account to a bookmaking operation. Ohtani’s lawyers made the accusations against his now-former interpreter after their clients name surfaced in a federal investigation into an alleged illegal bookmaker, Matthew Bowyer, who Mizuhara placed bets with. There’s a lot to unpack here, but Ohtani is clearly the victim in this complicated case. The 29-year-old two-way sensation made his Dodgers debut earlier on Wednesday in South Korea, going 2-for-5 with an RBI and a stolen base in Los Angeles’ season-opening win over the division-rival Padres.”
Ohtani may be a victim here. But there s also a non zero chance he unwittingly committed financial crimes by paying his friends debts as well as an equivalent t chance the bets were his. More shoes to drop would be my guess.
If we Met fans can’t be positive at this point, when can we be positive? I’m eager to see what this gang can do. Worst case scenario…they stink, we vent on 360.
McNeil,anyone else worried about him?
From Jon Heyman’s article about the Yankees chasing Montgomery:
“Montgomery’s camp compares him to Aaron Nola, who got $172 million over seven years. And while there’s a decent case to be made — Montgomery has actually been better since 2021, and was even better in the postseason — the market loved Nola more. And Phillies owner John Middleton, who might be baseball’s best owner, wasn’t about to let Nola go.”
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Man, after all the scoops Cohen gave him to write a line like that. Wow.
I caught an article today talking about a WFAN host actually placed a wager that Severino will snag the 2024 NLCYA.
Evan Robert is really confident that Severino will not only recapture old glories, but actually surpass them.
I’d have to be given exceptionally high odds to take that bet
You can get as much as 20,000 to 1 for Severino. Here’s a breakdown of all pitchers:
https://www.vegasinsider.com/mlb/odds/cy-young/
Roberts stole my take.
Well what do you know? The Mets—our Mets—are signing J.D. Martinez for $12 million for one year! Now we’re talking! Baty at 3B and Vientos to the minors?
A report has over 60 percent deferred too!
NPV is under $9 million with deferrals to late 2030s!
Why not platoon them? Baty hasn’t earned all of the reps at 3B.He hasn’t even come close. If we’re giving the young players a chance, then give both of them the chance. If we’re looking to win, then they’re both still bench players/4A shuttlers.
Is Baty and Vientos bench players/ 4A shuttle’s? Based upon last years results…Yes! They are young players still that can turn it around. The Mets are a team that wants to get a playoff berth. Playoffs team don’t have too many question marks. Martinez answers one of the questions. Platoon them at third base. Vientos will still get 20-30 at DH. Sending him down would be foolish. He has mastered AAA. Now he has to shed the Quad-A label. He will learned and adjustment more in the major leagues than at AAA. He is better than Stewart, Choi or Short.
Mets DFAd Bickford to add JD Martinez to the roster