Mets Opening Day Roster and Lineup Challenges

“They told me my services were no longer desired because they wanted to put in a youth program as a way of keeping the club going. I’ll never make the mistake of being seventy again.” ~ Casey Stengel

Here is the official Opening Day roster followed by a look at today’s potential lineup.

Starting Lineup

1. Juan Lagares, CF
2. Curtis Granderson, RF
3. David Wright, 3B
4. Lucas Duda, 1B
5. Michael Cuddyer, LF
6. Daniel Murphy, 2B
7. Wilmer Flores, SS
8. Travis d’Arnaud, C

Bench

1. Anthony Recker, C
2. Kirk Nieuwenhuis, OF
3. John Mayberry Jr, OF
4. Ruben Tejada, IF

Starting Rotation

1. Bartolo Colon, RHP
2. Jacob deGrom, RHP
3. Matt Harvey, RHP
4. Jon Niese, LHP
5. Dillon Gee, RHP

Bullpen

1. Jenrry Mejia, CL
2. Jeurys Familia, SU
3. Carlos Torres, RHP
4. Rafael Montero, RHP
5. Buddy Carlyle, RHP
6. Alex Torres, LHP
7. Jerry Blevins, LHP
8. Sean Gilmartin, LHP

Disabled List

Vic Black
Bobby Parnell
Josh Edgin
Zack Wheeler

As for the Opening Day lineup, because the Mets have opted to forgo a fifth bat for the bench, choosing instead to carry an extra arm in the bullpen, the Mets are now considering an unorthodox starting lineup.

According to a report by Marc Carig, sources tell him that Opening Day lineup will have Curtis Granderson leading off, David Wright batting second, Lucas Duda hitting third, and Michael Cuddyer batting cleanup ahead of Daniel Murphy in the fifth spot.

Further, Carig points out than given the smaller bench, batting the pitcher eighth may make more sense even with Bartolo Colon. He says it reduces the chances of Collins burning a pinch hitter in that spot.

He speculates the Opening Day lineup to look like this: