It is finally time for some New York Mets baseball!

Spring training practices are officially underway, and games are set to start very soon for New York. Heading into the 2025 season, the Mets have a lot of excitement and buzz surrounding them. Between Juan Soto, the return of Pete Alonso, and the anticipated arrival of some top prospects, there is plenty to talk about when it comes to the 2024 NLCS runner-ups.

However, the biggest discussions around the Mets are related to their roster battles, and there will be a good amount of them in 2025. Whether it is a battle between top prospects at second base, a fight for a utility role, or a chance to crack the starting rotation, some key contributors on the Opening Day roster will be decided during the spring sessions.

Who are the key players for these battles, though? Who are the players who have a chance to make the opening-day roster? Follow along as we preview the Mets’ position battles for the 2025 edition of spring training.

Starting Rotation

In recent days, this competition has expanded to have potentially two rotation spots up for grabs.

Offseason signing Frankie Montas, who seemed likely to secure a rotation spot, was revealed to have a high-grade lat strain. The Mets announced that Montas would be shut down from throwing for 6-8 weeks.

As a result of the Montas injury, it would seem that veteran pitcher Paul Blackburn is one of the main candidates to secure a rotation spot out of camp. The former Athletics pitcher is a solid back-end option in the fourth or fifth rotation spot. He can get some strikeouts, does not walk too many batters, and can induce weak contact or ground balls close to 50 percent.

Outside of Blackburn, Griffin Canning and Tylor Megill are two of the other options competing for roles in the starting rotation. Megil has some upper-level strikeout potential, highlighted by a K/9 over 10. If he can reduce some of the walks and lower his flyball percentage, he could be a valuable asset for the Mets in 2025.

As for Canning, he is in a similar mold to Blackburn as a pitcher. The former Angel struggled with walks and the home run ball in 2024, but he did throw over 170 innings across 31 games started. Essentially, the Mets could view Canning as an innings-eater at the back of their rotation.

The veterans are not the only players to keep an eye on, though. Top prospect Brandon Sproat has a chance to make his mark on the team this Spring, as he earned a non-roster invite to the Mets’ major league camp. With upper-level strikeout potential and overall upside, the pitcher could push to make the team’s opening-day roster if he impresses enough during the team’s games. Even if he does not make the initial roster, Sproat could be a key asset in the middle of the season for New York.

Other than Sproat, the Mets have Blade Tidwell and Dom Hamel at major league camp as non-roster invitees. While they may not been seen as immediate threats to the likes of Blackburn and Megill, strong camps and starts to their seasons could push them to the major league roster in short order.

Pitching is vital in major league baseball, and having depth at the position is key to having a winning team. The Mets are in a very good position in this regard, and it will be fascinating to see who the winners will be at the end of spring training.

Second Base

While there are not as many competitors for second base, it is still a spot up for grabs.

The incumbent is veteran infielder Jeff McNeil. While he had an extremely slow start to the season, McNeil rebounded in his last 40 games in the second half of the season, posting a .289 batting average and a wRC+ of 156. If he replicates that production and gets back to being a plus defender, the Mets will have a key contributor on their hands.

However, the Mets also have three potential prospects waiting in the wings: Luisangel Acuña, Jett Williams, and Ronny Mauricio. Acuña can provide speed and upper-level fielding right away in 2025. Additionally, Acuña has flashed some development with his bat over the past few months. If he does not get significant reps at second base, he could be utilized as a utility player(more on that in a bit).

Mauricio flashed some power potential as a young player in 2023, but he also had some significant swing-and-miss to his game. If his recovery goes to plan and he continues to develop his hit tool, the infielder could have a chance to get real reps during the 2025 season.

Williams may be the most exciting player out of the trio for the Mets. He has upper-tier speed, a nice hit tool, and the fielding versatility to play all over the diamond. In truth, the Mets’ prospect may not even be a second baseman at the professional level, but rather an outfielder. This would allow the Mets to utilize his upper-tier athleticism to its highest potential, as Willaims could run down balls all over the park in a position like centerfield.

Is McNeil the player likely to win at this position? Yes, but with so much young talent waiting in the wings, second base is a position to monitor and track during the spring.

Utility Bench Spot

In the event that Jeff McNeil sweeps the competition at second base, all eyes should be on the utility position battle for the Mets.

Luisangel Acuña and Jett Williams could definitely be considered for this role right out of the gates in 2025; with upper-level fielding and speed ability, both players would boost the Mets’ versatility immediately. David Stearns essentially said as much about Acuña during a media availability; when asked about the infielder’s prospects to win the utility role, the head of baseball operations said that Acuña is “in that competition ” for the role.

Offseason signing Nick Madrigal has shown the potential to be a vacuum at second base while also having the ability to move all around the infield. At the plate, he offers high contact rates and low strikeout totals; with some better barrel success, he could be a real contender for this role.

Brett Baty could also be considered a challenger for the role. Once one of the team’s top prospects, the third basemen has taken reps at second base and has some experience playing the outfield. Baty’s bat needs significant work, though, and could truly only win the job if he shows vast improvement during spring training.

Various other players could be included in the discussion if you wanted to go digging, whether it is Luke Ritter, Drew Gilbert, or Joey Meneses. However, I see the Mets leaning toward a player who could provide a mix of everything off the bench, not just one who specializes in a specific area of the game. Regardless of one’s predictions, this is another competition worth watching.

Bullpen

Is it spring training, or even baseball season, if we are not talking about the bullpen?

For all intents and purposes, the Mets’ bullpen looks to be pretty set heading into game action. They brought Ryan Stanek back, added A.J Minter as a primary lefty deliver, and have stalwarts like Edwin Díaz and José Buttó locked in their spots.

However, there are some fun names that could shake some things up for the Metropolitans.

Dedniel Núñez, working his way back from injury, can burst onto the scene once again and reclaim a high-leverage role in the bullpen. Huascar Brazoban brings high-level strikeout stuff to the table, while Génesis Cabrera and Chris Devenski bring veteran experience. Grant Hartwig, Max Kranick, and Kevin Herget, along with a variety of other names, all have some interesting abilities to potentially bring to the team’s bullpen.

Trying to predict the success or failure of relievers during a season is like throwing darts or playing blackjack. Sometimes, you hit your targets and win all of the hands; at other times, nothing seems to go your way.

The Mets have plenty of bullpen depth heading into 2025. They have a variety of arms that can get strikeouts, handle specific sides of the plate, induce desired contact types, and more. At the end of the day, it all comes down to how the pitchers perform when the lights come on and how the team’s pitching lab affects the development of each individual player. For those two reasons alone, the bullpen warrants watching during the course of the spring.