New York Mets manager Mickey Callaway talked to the media on Tuesday night at the MLB Winter Meetings in Las Vegas.
Callaway, coming off an uneven first season as a manager, touched on a variety of topics.
The skipper said that right now Brandon Nimmo is going to leadoff for the Mets and that Robinson Cano is slated to bat third.
When I asked him about Peter Alonso possibly hitting at the top of the lineup to give the Mets lineup some balance, Callaway said Peter will get chance to make the Opening Day lineup and hit at the top of the lineup.
He also praised Alonso for his hard work on his defense over the last year and said that he has 80 grade power.
The slugging first baseman received the Joe Bauman award earlier this week for leading the entire minor leagues with 36 home runs in 2018.
Callaway was talked about the need for the Mets to get better at the catcher position and knows it is something that GM Brodie Van Wagenen is looking into.
Of course, most of the talk over the last 24 hours at the winter meetings has been the Mets strong interest in acquiring Marlins catcher J.T. Realmuto. Brodie was jokingly asked where Realmuto would hit in the lineup, “third for the Marlins.”
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I asked Callaway about the status of utility man T.J. Rivera, “He’s doing really well at this point…..he can really hit and he’s an option for the role that (Wilmer) Flores was in.”
Callaway was very adamant that Edwin Diaz was going to be used as a traditional closer given his track record of success in that role.
Diaz led the major leagues with 57 saves this year for the Seattle Mariners, and was predominantly used as a three-out reliever in 2018.
Callaway went on to state that as of today, veteran Todd Frazier was his starting third baseman. That would leave 2018 standout Jeff McNeil in a super utility role. Callaway said McNeil could play first and short in a pinch, and previously mentioned his ability to play the outfield.
