Off the back of that potential good news, Senger launched his first home run of spring training in the game’s seventh inning. The right-handed hitting catcher launched an 89 mph cutter 392 feet and 105.5 mph off the bat. The solo shot also notched the 27-year-old his first RBI of the spring as well.

Senger is not exactly known for his bat, as he owns a career .684 OPS. However, he is lauded for his defensive play, something that is always important for any backup catcher.

On the spring season, Senger now has a .174/.269/.348 slash line good for a .617 OPS. Last season, he spent the majority of the year playing for Triple-A Syracuse where he slashed .252/.323/.401 (.725 OPS) across 166 at-bats. Most notably, Senger had a 37% caught stealing rate; for context, the major-league average is usually around 30%.

If the projection of Senger making the big league roster on Opening Day does hold, it’ll be a nice story for a career minor leaguer. As has been well documented, Senger has spent some offseason working at a Whole Foods. Going from the grocery store to the big leagues is a terrific story in itself.

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Who knew?

The latest success stories to emerge from the New York Mets’ highly touted pitching lab both have forced their way into the conversation this spring. Holmes has done more than just impress — he’s been tabbed as New York’s Opening Day starter. Meanwhile, Kranick has made a compelling case for one of the final bullpen spots, looking increasingly like a lock to break camp with the team.

Entering Saturday, neither Holmes nor Kranick had given up a run since setting foot in Port St. Lucie.

That streak finally ended on March 15 in a 4-1 loss to the Washington Nationals.

Photo by Ed Delany of Metsmerized

Holmes had been nearly untouchable, posting 9 2/3 scoreless innings with just two hits allowed, 13 strikeouts and four walks. His spring ERA now sits at 1.29 after surrendering two runs on three hits over 4 1/3 innings, striking out two and walking one.

Kranick had been just as dominant, firing eight scoreless innings with 10 strikeouts, five hits allowed and zero walks. But Saturday wasn’t as kind. He, too, gave up two runs on three hits, striking out two and walking one in 1 1/3 innings.

So, what does this mean?

Not much.

Photo by Ed Delany of Metsmerized

But it’s a reminder that even the most dominant spring performances aren’t immune to the occasional hiccup. Holmes and Kranick have still been two of the Mets’ most impressive arms in camp, and one rough outing doesn’t change that.

Holmes is still set to take the ball on Opening Day. Kranick is still on track to carve out a role in the bullpen.

A couple of runs in mid-March won’t change that.

If anything, it’s better to get the bad outing out of the way now — because when the games start counting, the Mets will be counting on them.

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While certain individuals continue to do their best to ease any worries about the starting rotation, the Mets suffered a huge blow on the injury front over the weekend.

To that end, let’s recap all the good and the bad from the last batch of Grapefruit League games in the latest edition of 3 Up, 3 Down…

3 UP

Photo by Ed Delany of Metsmerized

HOLMES MASTERCLASS

The decision to stretch Clay Holmes into a starter looks more and more like a home run with each passing day. Granted, we’re still in the throes of spring training. It is foolish to overreact to anything during this time of year. With that said, however, Holmes has taken to his new role with ease and has looked mighty impressive thus far. His strong spring continued on Sunday against the Nationals. In three 2/3 innings, the righty extended his scoreless streak to 9 2/3 innings. He allowed one hit and walked three but struck out eight. Holmes’ nasty sinker mowed through the Nationals lineup, and he elicited 13 swings and misses in total on Sunday.

It remains to be seen just how much Holmes will be able to give the Mets as a starter over a full 162-game regular season. But, as the old adage goes, quality over quantity is always preferred. We’ve certainly seen a lot of quality from Holmes so far.

SPRING STANDOUT

Every team in baseball will see a shock star performer emerge from the monotony of spring training exhibition games. It happens every single year. Well, Max Kranick has been that man for the Mets this spring. The righty has been making impressive noise throughout camp in a bid to make the Opening Day roster. He threw another scoreless inning out of the pen on Friday, registering 97.7 mph on one of his pitches – the hardest he’s thrown in spring training. In total, Kranick has allowed no runs and no walks with four hits and eight strikeouts in seven outstanding innings. With a minor league option, it remains to be seen if Kranick does break camp with the major league ballclub.

But, whether he does or not, the 27-year-old possesses both nasty stuff and a lot of upside. As a result, he has what’s needed to become a multi-inning threat out of the bullpen at some point in 2025.

SIGN OF THINGS TO COME

The entire Juan Soto experience has started perfectly for the Mets so far. By every indication, the superstar hitter with the record contract has fitted in comfortably, and he is already emerging as a real leader in that clubhouse. Furthermore, Soto has lived up to his lofty billing on the baseball diamond. In seven spring training games, the generational hitter is slashing.400/.471/.867/.1.337 with two homers, one double, two walks and five RBIs. He finished 3-for-3 against the Marlins on Saturday, including an opposite-field RBI double. All in all, Soto has come exactly as advertised. It will be a thrill to watch him put on a hitting masterclass in Queens.

Photo by Ed Delany of Metsmerized

3 DOWN 

ALL-TIME BODY BLOW

The Mets were dealt an especially nasty punch to the stomach on Sunday. It was announced that Francisco Alvarez willmiss six to eight weeks with a fractured hamate bone in his left hand. The catcher will undergo surgery. It is a huge blow to the Mets, who will now rely on Luis Torrens as their everyday catcher. But it is arguably a bigger blow for Alvarez, who hoped to author a comeback year after a tough 2024 season. The slugger reworked his swing and tweaked his mechanics in the hope of becoming a real X-Factor for the Mets in 2025. Instead, he will now begin the year on the shelf.

Of course, there is always the danger of setbacks and complications with any kind of injury. As such, you can make a compelling argument that the Mets should go out and bring in another catcher. Yasmani Grandal, who is a free agent, arguably offers the most offensive upside of all the options available. Other alternatives include former Mets catchers James McCann and Tomás Nido. It is important to note, however, that the latter would require a trade given that he is currently with the Tigers. The Mets do have internal options, too, but going outside of the organization for an insurance policy might be the better play.

Whatever the Mets decide to do, though, there is no replacing Alvarez, and his absence at the start of the season is a notable setback for both team and player.

SLOW PROGRESS

Setbacks are proving to be the theme of spring training for Brandon Nimmo. The outfielder is battling soreness in his right knee – a fight he is currently losing. Despite being expected to return to the lineup on Sunday, that proved to not bethe case. Instead, Nimmo received a gel injection and sat out. He will rest through at least Monday and then will continue to ramp up. However, while there is no structural damage, the persistent soreness is somewhat concerning. Nimmo has been limited to just two plate appearances so far this spring. That lack of preparation is hardly conducive to getting off to a fast and productive start in 2025. We will see what happens the rest of the way, but Nimmo’s nagging knee soreness is a worrisome development worth keeping an eye on.

TOUGH SLEDDING

Things are starting to take shape with the starting rotation, but there are still question marks over the backend. Paul Blackburn was considered a contender to win a spot at the back of that rotation. However, it has been a rough camp for the veteran. Through three starts, Blackburn has allowed eight hits, four walks, two home runs and seven runs (six earned), while recording just one strikeout. He got roughed up pretty badly in his last outing on Friday too, giving up three runs on five hits. He allowed two homers in that one while walking two batters.

As things stand, Blackburn is probably lagging behind Tylor Megill and Griffin Canning in what is effectively a three-horse race for a rotation spot. However, still recovering from spinal leak surgery, there is time for Blackburn to turn things around. After all, it isn’t about how you start but, rather, how you finish.

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It’s the season after the draft where numbers for prospects start to pop, but thanks to the pandemic, there was no minor league baseball. In 2021, he went to High-A and hit .232/.311/.436 over 73 games with 14 home runs. Ritter had a fairly average 2022 season slashing .204/.311/.361 with 15 home runs across Binghamton and Syracuse.

In 2023, Ritter finally started to turn some heads. He started the year back down in Binghamton (Double-A) and had a .958 OPS over 43 games. He then got promoted back to Triple-A Syracuse and had a .808 OPS over 64 games; both of these were career-highs in the minor league. In total, he hit 27 home runs while slashing .244/.372/.496.

Luke Ritter. Photo by Herm Card

Then, last season, he just went on a tear, slashing .257/.369/.480 with 26 home runs over 134 games for Syracuse. His power last year coincided at the same time when the Mets’ offense was faltering. His play earned him a spot on Team USA for the Premier12 tournament this past offseason where he went 5-for-20 with two doubles and a home run.

Ritter has shown in the minors that he has some pop. There are just a lot of players in front of him on the depth chart. At the major-league level there is Pete Alonso, Mark Vientos, and Jesse Winker. Ritter is also competing against Joey Meneses and Jared Young. Young has the upper hand right now because he is on the 40-man roster.

Ritter hasn’t had a great start to spring so far, going 1-for-13 across six games with four strikeouts. To move up the depth chart, he has to show that 2023 and 2024 were not flukes. He has a solid chance of being called up at some point this summer, especially because he’s 28-years old and the Mets are going to need to determine what they have in Ritter. If he goes on a streak again this spring, he may push out other bench players.

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Holmes delivered another stellar performance, tossing 3 2/3 scoreless innings while striking out eight, allowing just one hit and three walks. His remarkable spring continued, bringing his total to 9 2/3 innings pitched with no earned runs, two hits, and 13 strikeouts. Edwin Díaz also took the mound, escaping a jam by striking out three straight after issuing two walks. Dakota Hawkins, Grant Hartwig, Connor Overton, and Rico Garcia all contributed scoreless outings, but Genesis Cabrera and Daniel Juarez struggled.

Cabrera surrendered five runs on four hits and a walk in just 1/3 of an inning. Juarez finished the frame, recording the final two outs but conceding one run on one hit and a walk.

There was promising news beyond Holmes’ performance, as Kodai Senga threw 50 pitches in a backfield session. Mets assistant pitching coach Desi Druschel highlighted Senga’s two sinkers as particularly impressive, as reported by Will Sammon of The Athletic.

Offensively, the Mets started strong, overwhelming Nationals starter Jake Irvin. Mark Vientos opened the scoring with a two-run homer in the first inning. Pete Alonso followed with a single, Jeff McNeil doubled, and Luis De Los Santos walked, setting the stage for Jakson Reetz, who crushed a grand slam off Irvin to extend the lead to 6-0.

Reetz, a catcher, delivered in a big moment following the news that Francisco Alvarez would be sidelined  six-to-eight weeks due to a hamate bone injury. The Mets’ bats went quiet until the eighth, when Travis Swaggerty tripled to left after a misplay by Nationals outfielder Darren Baker. Luis De Los Santos then drove in Swaggerty to put the Mets back on top for good.

Photo by Ed Delany of Metsmerized

Player of The Game: Clay Holmes

Clay Holmes delivered another stellar performance today, going 3 2/3 scoreless innings while striking out eight, allowing just one hit and three walks. His strong spring has his total numbers equal out to 9 2/3 innings pitched with no earned runs, two hits, and 13 strikeouts.

He’ll be needed desperately given injuries to Sean Manaea and Frankie Montas.

On Deck

The Mets are right back at it Monday, as they welcome the St. Louis Cardinals to Clover Park. Griffin Canning is projected to get another audition for the Mets on the mound, and Sonny Gray should toe the slab for St. Louis. First pitch is at 6:10 pm ET and will be broadcast locally on SNY and MLB Network nationally.

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After an impressive 2024 campaign — finally healthy after dealing with a hip ailment — the tall left-hander has emerged as one of the more reliable options in the New York Mets’ rotation. Sure, pitchers are typically ahead of hitters in spring training, but Peterson has now turned in back-to-back strong outings, giving Mets fans and the front office plenty of reason to feel optimistic about his role in a rotation full of question marks.

This time last year, suggesting that Peterson would be one of New York’s most dependable starters heading into 2025 would have gotten you laughed out of the room. He struggled through a dreadful 2023 after a promising 2022, ultimately undergoing surgery to repair a damaged labrum in his left hip.

That procedure changed everything.

Photo by Ed Delany of Metsmerized

And while WAR isn’t the end-all, be-all of pitching stats, the improvement was staggering— jumping from 0.5 WAR in 2023 to 2.9 in 2024. His ERA dropped from 5.03 in 21 starts to 2.90 across the same workload. He also became a secret weapon for New York in the postseason.

Interestingly, he struck out 27 fewer batters in 10 more innings, and the underlying metrics suggested he should’ve regressed. Yet Peterson leaned on generating weak contact, inducing plenty of ground balls, and limiting hard-hit contact in what became his most complete season as a major leaguer.

Peterson allowed just three hard-hit balls in New York’s 7-3 spring training win over the Marlins on Saturday. Across four innings, he surrendered just one hit, struck out two, and walked two, keeping Miami off the scoreboard, as he’s done all spring. And, while the Marlins’ lineup isn’t exactly the 1927 Yankees, he wasn’t facing minor leaguers on the backfields of Port St. Lucie; these were legitimate big leaguers, and Peterson delivered yet again.

Saturday marked his first official start of the spring, and he has now thrown seven scoreless innings, allowing just two hits while striking out seven. In his previous outing, he fanned five without a walk. He added two free passes on Saturday but still looked in control, keeping hitters off balance and limiting hard contact.

If Peterson keeps this up, he won’t just be a dependable arm in the Mets’ rotation — he’ll be a stabilizing force on a staff that desperately needs one. His resurgence in 2024 was no fluke, and early returns this spring suggest he’s ready to build on it. For a Mets pitching staff full of uncertainty, Peterson might be the sure thing they didn’t know they had.

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Alvarez was 5-for-22 this spring, with a .598 OPS. All five of his hits were singles. His strikeout to walk ratio was 11 to 5. There is no mention just yet how the injury occurred, however, hamate fractured can happen from simply swinging the bat.

The 23-year-old saw a dip in his power last season, after launching 25 home runs in 2023, he hit only 11 in 342 at-bats in 2024. Alvarez also missed time due to injury in 2024. When it was all said and done, he posted a 101 OPS+ and .710 OPS. Defensively, he was one of the best catchers when it came to framing (88th percentile) and pop tome (83rd percentile), but struggled mightily blocking balls in the dirt (2nd percentile).

With a 6-to-8 week timeline, that puts Alvarez out until sometime between April 20 and May 4. In his absence the Mets will likely rely heavily on the 2024 breakout; Luis Torrens. Internal options to back Torrens up are Jakson Reetz, Chris Williams, or Hayden Senger.

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In November, the Mets brought in Donovan Walton to fill that vacancy. The Mets drafted Walton in 2012, but he did not sign with the team. Instead, he enrolled at Oklahoma and was drafted in 2015 by the Brewers, but still did not sign. In 2016, the Mariners won the Walton sweepstakes, drafting him in the fifth round.

Donovan Walton. Photo Credit: Reinhold Matay-Imagn Images

Walton was never a highly touted prospect, generally landing around number 23 or 24 on the Mariners prospect lists on MLB Pipeline after being drafted (a good 10+ spots behind Daniel Vogelbach, who was also kicking around on the Mariners list then). His write-up then noted how his “instinct and consistency” made up for “his lack of tools“. In 2017, they expected his debut to happen in 2020 (he debuted in 2019) and that he would become a utility player.

Walton had a few cups of coffee with the Mariners and Giants between 2019 and 2024, totaling 70 games. He hit .174/.227/.305 with a 49 OPS+ in that span. He’s coming off a successful 2024 minor league campaign where he hit .306/.380/.441 (.821 OPS) over 99 games played.

It was tough to see a path for Walton to make the big league team entering spring. The Mets had Nick Madrigal as their super utility player. Behind him was Brett Baty (.438 BA, seven hits, two homers this spring) and Luisangel Acuña (.200 BA, two hits, two stolen bases this spring). However, Madrigal’s season-ending injury moves everyone up the depth chart, including Donovan Walton.

Walton is 2-for-11 over four spring training games with a double and one strikeout. If he can hit closer to what he did with the Giants Triple-A squad, then we’ll probably see him with the major league team at some point this season.

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Paul Blackburn. Photo Credit: Sam Navarro-Imagn Images

Blackburn gave up four runs, including a ground-rule double with the bases loaded to Masataka Yoshida in his first frame. Blackburn struggled to the point where, after 23 pitches and just one out, he was pulled. Once reliever Douglas Orellana cleaned up his mess, Blackburn re-entered the ballgame, which often happens in the spring to allow pitchers to get their work while not over-taxing them in a particular inning. In the second inning, he retired the side.

After throwing strikes against the Marlins, Blackburn threw 17 strikes and 15 balls to Boston. He got behind 2-0 to Alex Bregman with no one on and one out in the first before the team’s newest free agent acquisition hit a single. He then walked Triston Casas. With runners on base and in some danger, Blackburn gave up a single and the ground-rule double, both on the first pitch, to Trevor Story and Yoshida, respectively.

“Sinker’s been a pitch I’ve been working on, today I just really couldn’t control it,” Blackburn told the media after finishing his outing, “That’s what spring training is for. I feel like (Francisco Alvarez) and I talked in between innings after the first and made a little bit of an adjustment as far as set-up and location-wise, and I feel like it was better in the second inning.”

A kitchen sink pitcher, Blackburn threw his sinker a career-low 13.6% of the time in 2024. It was also the least effective pitch within his arsenal. Blackburn’s sinker held a run value of negative seven in 2024, and hitter’s batted .478 against the bitch (.344 xBA) and slugged .674 (.475 xSLG). According to Baseball Savant, Blackburn’s fastball run value in 2024 was -16 (the second percentile). However, his offspeed and breaking run value were both three (84th percentile for offspeed and 71st percentile for breaking).

Blackburn’s manager agreed it was a mixed bag, calling his performance “okay“.

“They got him in that first inning where he got behind the hitters,” Carlos Mendoza said. “It was good to see him go back out there for a second inning, second up, and make some adjustments, and he was a lot better.”

Mendoza also stressed that coming off of what he called a “freak injury,” Blackburn experiencing a spinal fluid leak in his back last September, he’s happy to see him pitching healthily

“The fact that he’s out there competing, we’re not worried about results right now,” Mendoza said, “It’s more about getting him feeling good physically and then working on his pitches.”

Fringe starters like Blackburn, Tylor Megill and Griffin Canning must make every spring start count. With both Frankie Montas and Sean Manaea expected to begin the season on the injured list, two spots in the rotation are up for grabs.

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The New York Mets were firing on all cylinders in Saturday’s win against the Tampa Bay Rays; the Mets third win in a row! Now, the Mets look to get a winning record for the first time this spring since the first day of spring.

This weekend the Mets traveled to the west coast of Florida, playing against a pair of teams they normally don’t get to face in March. After today’s game, the Mets will play their next nine games against the Marlins, Cardinals, Astros or Nationals.

Paul Blackburn. Photo Credit: Sam Navarro-Imagn Images

Mets Lineup

1. Jeff McNeil, 2B
2. Francisco Alvarez, C
3. Jesse Winker, DH
4. Jose Siri, CF
5. Alexander Canario, LF
6. Brett Baty, 3B
7. Jared Young, 1B
8. José Azócar, RF
9. Donovan Walton, SS

Red Sox Lineup

1. Jarren Duran, LF
2. Alex Bregman, 3B
3. Triston Casas, 1B
4. Trevor Story, SS
5. Masataka Yoshida, DH
6. Trayce Thompson, RF
7. David Hamilton, 2B
8.  Ceddanne Rafaela, CF
9. Carlos Narváez, C

Game Notes

The Mets will get a look at Red Sox newest signees Walker Buehler (first spring start) and Alex Bregman, among others.

Three Things To Watch For

1. Paul Blackburn’s second start. The Mets have an opening or two in the rotation due to the injuries to Sean Manaea and Frankie Montas. Paul Blackburn is one of a few pitchers competing for those two spots. Over the last couple of days, we’ve seen the younger pitchers in camp (Brandon Sproat and Blade Tidwell) dominate in their starts. Blackburn pitched a clean inning in his first game, striking out one batter and allowing no hits and no walks. How far does he go into this game?
2. Rico Garcia. According to Saturday’s game notes, Garcia is scheduled to make his third appearance in spring this afternoon for the Mets. Garcia is in camp on a non-roster invitee deal. In his first two games, he allowed two hits and struck out three batters while not allowing any runs to score. Garcia had a successful 2024 for the Nationals in Rochester, posting a 3.94 ERA over 61 2/3 innings. If he puts up similar numbers for Syracuse this season, we’ll see him in Queens at some point.
3. A New Face in Town. Walker Buehler held the Mets scoreless over four innings in the National League Championship Series. He was a major signing for the Boston Red Sox this year who are looking to challenge the Yankees and the Orioles for the American League East. For the Mets’ bats, this presents a second-straight day to get some reps in against a serious starting pitcher.

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