3 Up, 3 Down: The Story Of Two JD’s, Offensive Struggles, Pitching Hope

There have been some really interesting developments that have unfolded for the New York Mets since our last edition of 3 Up, 3 Down earlier in the week.

The starting pitching continues to be a real strength, while the offense has hit an almighty towering wall over the past handful of games. Of course, it is foolish to put too much stock into anything spring training related, but there are certain trends manifesting that will be worth keeping an eye on.

And, on the day where the best prospects in the Mets’ farm system will take center stage in their Spring Breakout outing against the Washington Nationals, let’s run through the good, the bad, the encouraging and the concerning from the past few days of Mets camp…

3 Up

PITCHING MASTERCLASS

I’m going to preface what I’m about to say by again stating that you have to take everything that happens in spring training with a gargantuan grain of salt. In saying that, however, the Mets must be feeling really good about their starting pitching two weeks out from Opening Day. Luis Severino continues to impress, and he has now allowed just one earned run on five hits while striking out eight with no walks in nine innings of work this spring.

At the backend of the rotation, José Buttó continues to deal in his bid to make the Opening Day roster as the No. 5 starter. The righty pitched four scoreless innings against the St. Louis Cardinals on Thursday and has allowed just one earned run while striking out nine in 10 total innings of work. When you consider that Tylor Megill, Adrian Houser and José Quintana have also dealt this spring, then the starting rotation looks to be in good shape. However, we’ll see if that proves to be still true once the regular season gets underway.

WELCOME RETURN 

At the time of writing this, Jeff McNeil is on track to make his spring training debut this Sunday, though that will depend on how the second baseman feels after workouts over the next couple of days. McNeil, who has been dealing with biceps discomfort all spring, will face high velocity in batting practice on Friday. There is no doubt that the sooner the Mets can get their two-time All-Star back in the lineup, the better. After enduring a down year in 2023, McNeil will need to bounce-back if the Mets are to be competitive in 2024, and getting some at-bats in at the tail end of spring training will be key to getting off to a fast start.

YES TO J.D. 1

Jon Heyman of The New York Post reported this week that the Mets are in contact with slugger J.D. Martinez and that the interest seems to be mutual. I’ve been singing the same tired old song all offseason that Martinez would be the perfect fit for this team. I haven’t changed my mind on that. The six-time All-Star hit .271/.321/.572/.893 with 33 homers and 27 doubles for the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2023. Martinez can mash for fun, he can put the ball in play, he gets on base at a high clip, and he would offer a lot of lineup protection for Pete Alonso in the designated hitter role. Come on David Stearns, go and get this deal done.

3 Down

NO TO J.D. 2

Joel Sherman of The Post reported that the Mets are having “serious talks” about bringing back J.D. Davis to Queens. I don’t think this is a good idea. Davis has been a net negative defensively while he’s also hardly been super-productive at the plate over the last couple of years. Plus, bringing back Davis would take away reps at the hot corner from Brett Baty and Mark Vientos, which wouldn’t be smart.

We need to see if Baty and Vientos can stick in the big leagues this year, and bringing in another third baseman would be counterproductive to that. The J.D. that makes the most sense is Martinez because of his big bat and the fact that he wouldn’t block Baty or Vientos at third. Plus, Vientos can fill in at DH when Martinez needs an off day. It is just my opinion, but J.D. Davis just wouldn’t be much of a fit on this roster.

OFFENSIVE STRUGGLES

Again, results in spring training are nothing but tonka trucks, but we can only report on what is happening right in front of us. As such, the fact that the offense has slowed down this week is slightly concerning. The bats have gone cold, scoring just seven runs in the last four games at the time of writing this while being shutout twice in that span. Brandon Nimmo, Alonso, Harrison Bader and Starling Marte went a combined 1-for-10 over a two-game span earlier in the week. Yes, the offense did put up six runs against the Astros on Wednesday, but then they were blanked by the Cardinals the following day. Again, it is spring, but the bats struggling this close to Opening Day is hardly a positive sign.

TIME TO PANIC?

The Mets say they aren’t worried about Starling Marte, but I’m not so sure I share that sentiment. The veteran outfielder has struggled greatly this spring, hitting just .091/.130/.091/.221 with two hits in 22 at-bats. Holy yikes. Marte is hitting the ball hard and far – he blasted one that left the bat at 108.5 mph on Monday – but the overall numbers are almost too ugly to ignore at this point. When you also consider that he had a down year in 2023, I’d say it is only normal to start panicking if the two-time All-Star still has plenty left in the tank. I think the opening few weeks of the 2024 regular season will tell us a lot about where exactly Marte’s game sits.