When we are regaled with tales of baseball’s glory days, one of the stories we hear about is how Spring Training wasn’t the resort it is nowadays. No, it was a competition for each and every player to prove or re-prove themselves. Like much of the old tales, there was much hyperbole to it because, really, did anyone expect Mickey Mantle to start the year in Triple-A after a poor Spring Training?
Still, there is a nugget of truth to the tale. In the modern game of baseball, we see General Managers loathe to open up important Opening Day roster spots to Spring Training competition. Rather, in an effort to mitigate risk, much of the 25 man roster is already spoken for before the team ever steps foot in Florida.
That is what makes this Spring Training so unique for the Mets. There are a number of roles open for competition. With that in mind, we have asked our staff which position battle are you most interested in following this Spring:
John Azzato – Center Field and Rotation
I’m looking forward to the battle to replace Michael Conforto while he’s on the Disabled List, as well as the battle for the final spots in the starting rotation.
Logan Barer – Center Field
I’m looking forward to the center field battle, but mostly I’m looking forward to seeing if Juan Lagares can hit. He put in all that work this offseason with the same hitting instructor that transformed Chris Taylor and J.D. Martinez, it’s more than worth it to see what he’s got. If he ends up hitting, he should be in center field every day because of his otherworldly glove.
Mathew Brownstein – First Base
I’m interested in watching the first base battle between Adrian Gonzalez and Dominic Smith play out this spring. With Smith coming to camp in phenomenal shape compared to last season’s call-up, one has to believe the 22-year-old top prospect took notice of the criticism to his health and did something to change it. He appears to be in good spirits and has said and done all the right things thus far, which is a great sign for his maturity level and indicates that he’s ready to do whatever he can to win the first base job out of camp.
Gonzalez was a low risk/high reward candidate, as the 35-year-old veteran is only being paid the major league minimum by the Mets in 2018. A back injury zapped much of his playing time last year – appearing in just 71 games – and certainly didn’t help his overall numbers, where he posted the lowest OPS of his career (.642). However, Gonzalez entered camp feeling healthy, citing that he has a good grasp of how to treat it if it were to balk upon him once again. It wasn’t that long ago (2016) that Gonzalez played in 156 games, posting an OPS+ of 111, with 31 doubles, 18 home runs, and posting 3 defensive runs saved (DRS) at first. Gonzalez has said that he has no problems serving as a mentor to the young Smith, aiding in his development and passing on knowledge from a 14-year career that’s seen Gonzo appear as an All-Star five times while winning four Gold Gloves and two Silver Slugger Awards. The progress of Smith and the questions of what Gonzalez has left will be intriguing to watch play out this spring.
Josh Finkelstein – Catcher
The position battle I’m most interested in is at the catcher position. While we all know that Kevin Plawecki and Travis d’Arnaud are both making the team, I’m curious to see how they play this spring. Will one of them stand out? Will they both play well? Will they both play bad? Nobody knows, but that position is the one to watch in Spring Training and throughout the season in my opinion. I have high expectations for them this season, though as I truthfully believe they push each other well and can make a solid catching tandem in 2018.
Mojo Hill – Starting Pitcher
I’m most interested in the battle of starting pitchers this spring. Noah Syndergaard, Jacob deGrom, and Jason Vargas are all locks to make the rotation. After that, there are only two spots left for Matt Harvey, Steven Matz, Zack Wheeler, Robert Gsellman, Seth Lugo and Rafael Montero. My guess is that Matz, Wheeler and/or Harvey make the rotation, Lugo gets pushed to the bullpen and Gsellman starts the year in Las Vegas. This leaves Montero either joining the bullpen or getting designated for assignment. Since all six of them will want a spot in the rotation, it will be interesting to see who makes it, who will have to adjust to a bullpen role, and who (if anyone) will not make the team at all. And behind them in the minors are guys like Chris Flexen or Mickey Jannis, so there will be a lot of competition for a very limited number of spots. It’s even possible the Mets could get creative with a six-man rotation, especially if someone like Wheeler doesn’t feel comfortable in the bullpen, but regardless, they will have some tough decisions to make when deciding the Opening Day roster.
John Jackson – First Base
The first base competition is what I’m looking forward to the most in spring training. Adrian Gonzalez had an injury-plagued, subpar season in 2017, but was productive as recently as 2016. Dominic Smith under-performed in 2017, but it was a small sample size of his rookie season where he was also out of shape. Now a healthier Gonzalez takes on a leaner Smith. While I rather see Smith win out since he’s part of the Mets’ future plans, whoever can deliver the most production for the 2018 squad is fine by me.
Photo: Serpentineros
Ed Leyro – Fifth Starter & First Base
It’s a tie between first base and the fifth starter in the rotation. With Dominic Smith coming to camp in surprisingly good shape, it’s not a lock that the Opening Day first baseman will be Adrian Gonzalez. And regardless of who wins the first base job, will that player lose playing time to Wilmer Flores whenever a southpaw is on the mound? As far as the fifth starter goes, the Jason Vargas signing could push Zack Wheeler out of a role he thought was his. Then again, who’s to say how Steven Matz will perform in Grapefruit League action? After deGrom, Syndergaard, Harvey and Vargas, the Mets should have quite a competition for the fifth starter.
Rob Piersall – First Base
I think all eyes will be on the situation at first base. Adrian Gonzalez was brought in with the intent to play first base everyday, but Dominic Smith has coming into camp looking like a lean machine. There’s nothing I would like more than for Smith to best Gonzalez outright. Only time will tell.
Tim Ryder – Center Field
I strongly feel, as detailed in my MMO 25 Man Roster Projection, Dom Smith should be up, not in Vegas. Starting lineup? Lagares vs. Nimmo for CF. It’s probably going to be Lagares, but Nimmo is developing into a professional hitter with him getting on base consistently enough to justify at least a platoon. If Lagares really has transformed his swing to put the ball in the air more and the results are there, it should be interesting. Ultimately, competition leads to max effort and max effort lead to wins. In the end, it’s a win/win situation no matter how it turns out.
Dilip Sridhar – New Bullpen Battle
I’m interested to see the new bullpen battle. Unless Matt Harvey and Matz come out firing 85 on their fastballs, the rotation seems more or less set. The battle of the bullpen seems to be over three or four spots between some intriguing candidates. There’s no denying Wheeler’s stuff. Robert Gsellman‘s sinker can be tough to elevate. Seth Lugo has his success when being limited, and Rafael Montero is still here. Add Paul Sewald to the mix and guys like Jamie Callahan and Jacob Rhame and suddenly the battle becomes interesting.
Mets Daddy – Leadoff Hitter
Certainly, you can make the case for any number of battles this Spring. Lagares and Nimmo in center carry with it ramifications for the future. Smith and Gonzalez should push both to be at their best. The last few spots in the rotation will also answer the question about who is in the bullpen. All are important and interesting. However, I’m looking at the lead-off hitter.
Mickey Callaway was brought here because he’s supposedly an advanced thinker. He’s already shown his proclivities to shirk the norm by eschewing a regular closer and instead going with the best guy in the highest leverage situation. Whether he actually does that remains to be seen.
The first real test is to see what he does with the lead-off spot. As we know with an old-school thinker like Terry Collins, he would’ve been compelled to go with Lagares, Jose Reyes, or Amed Rosario because of their speed. Early indications are Callaway is thinking differently going so far as to name Todd Frazier as a candidate. Seeing if Callaway follows through with his instincts or falls back on old-school thinking when filling out the lineup card will certainly give us an indication as to whether he was the forward thinker we were promised, or if he is afraid to put himself on the line by putting his theories into practice.
Much like Gonzalez and Smith, it seems like most of our writers are most interested in seeing how the first base situation shakes out during Spring Training. Do you agree with that, or do you more so with one of our other writers? Perhaps, you feel there is a battle we have overlooked. We look forward to continuing this discussion in the comments section.
