Photos From Port St. Lucie: All Smiles at Mets’ Camp

Despite the ongoing rumors swirling around about a possible extension for Jacob deGrom, the reigning Cy Young award winner is all smiles at camp on Saturday.

DeGrom, 30, is coming off a year where he was nothing short of elite. In 32 starts, the right-hander logged a 1.70 ERA, 1.99 FIP and struck out 269 batters in 217.0 innings pitched.

The five-year veteran will look to repeat on his stellar campaign and anchor the Mets’ rotation back to playoff contention in 2019.

Behind him stands right-hander Noah Syndergaard, who will look to be the No. 2 in the 1,2 punch that him and deGrom will look to be.

Syndergaard, 26, went 13-4 with a 3.03 ERA and 2.80 FIP in 25 starts for the Metropolitans last year, but will look to find his way back to the type of season he had in 2016. That year, he appeared in his first All-Star game and had a league leading 2.29 FIP to go along with 218 strikeouts.

Chris Flexen is my player to watch this Spring. (Article on that coming Tuesday).

As you can see, Flexen has shed a ton of weight this winter and will look to be a dark horse candidate for New York’s No. 5 starter.

Last year, Flexen, 24, got into just four games at the big league level, but logged an unimpressive 12.79 ERA with two homers allowed in just 6.1 innings pitched.

I can go on a rant about how I don’t think he was handled properly during his time in the majors, but that’s beside the point. Flexen is on a mission this Spring and is in terrific shape.

Acquired by the Mets in 2017 for outfielder Jay Bruce, Ryder Ryan has shown flashes during his time in the organization that he could be a one day MLB talent. Here he is slinging a pitch.

The 23-year-old could make the jump to the bigs later this season after ending last year with Double-A Binghamton.

In 42 games between Double-A and Single-A St. Lucie last year, Ryan recorded a 3.23 ERA, 1.057 WHIP and had 59 strikeouts in 53 innings.

He is a reliever to keep tabs on and one that’ll surely get some opportunities this Spring to prove himself.

Kyle Dowdy was selected by the Mets in the Rule V draft at the end of the winter meetings, and the organization is very high on him.

At Citi Field last week, general manager Brodie Van Wagenen raved about Dowdy and how they hope he will be a force in the Mets’ bullpen this year.

The 26-year-old split last year between the Detroit Tigers and Cleveland Indians organizations, where he spent time at Double and Triple-A. Cumulatively, he logged a 4.47 ERA, and struck out 44 batters in 54.1 innings pitched.

Dowdy will be a name to watch due to his Rule V status. I bet he has an inside track to make the Opening Day roster for that reason, barring a disastrous spring.

An old friend!

Dilson Herrera is back with the organization after originally being traded by New York in 2016 in exchange for Jay Bruce.

Herrera, 24, played in 53 games for the Cincinnati Reds in 2018, hitting .184/.268/.414 with five homers and 11 RBI.

Amazingly, Herrera is still extremely young and was a low risk, high reward pickup this winter. The Mets have made it a priority to bolster their infield this winter, and Herrera gives them some nice insurance.