Opening Day is just two days away, and with spring officially in the books, let’s take a look at the players who gained the most—and may have lost the most—based on their spring training performances.
Photo by Ed Delany of Metsmerized
The Winners
Well, well, well. If it isn’t Brett Baty on this list again. I’m not sure if we’ve done this type of article in the past, but Baty would’ve made an appearance in the winner’s column at least one or two other times. But this time, it feels a bit different.
Now 25 years old, Baty arrived to Port St. Lucie with a new swing—one that’s seeing him try to lift the ball more. It’s a desperately needed change in Baty’s overall approach. He hasn’t seen success at the MLB level previously because he’s hammered the ball into the ground at-bat after at-bat.
This spring, he finished with a .353/.441/.745/1.186 slash line. This includes 11 extra-base hits (four homers, seven doubles and a triple). It’s also come with a (small sample size) improved walk rate, a spike in his line-drive rate, and a significant decrease in his ground-ball rate. On top of this all, he started to get reps at second base next to Francisco Lindor, and he’s looked like he can handle the position.
The improved approach, offensive results and positional flexibility are all great signs for Baty. The only question is if this will finally translate at the big-league level. It might be his last chance with the Mets.
Remember when the Mets added Max Kranick to their 40-man roster (and playoff roster) at the end of last season? His minor-league success last season (3.57 ERA in the offense-happy International League) validated the addition, but he hadn’t pitched in the majors at all before being added to a playoff roster.
Well, the Mets seemingly had something in Kranick, who was the breakout pitcher of the spring. He finished spring training with a 1.46 ERA over 12.1 innings with an impressive 15:1 strikeout-to-walk ratio. His fastball, slider and sinker will all play well out of the bullpen for the Mets this year (though as of publishing, he hasn’t officially made the team). Last year, the Mets found Reed Garrett and resurrected Dedniel Núñez. Kranick could be 2025’s gem.
Photo by Ed Delany of Metsmerized
Tylor Megill & Griffin Canning
Tylor Megill and Griffin Canning each earned starting rotation spots this spring. Had the Mets run with a six-man rotation out of the gate, and had Sean Manaea and Frankie Montas not gotten injured, these two would’ve ended up fighting for the final spot. Now, they take the fourth and fifth spots in the rotation after Kodai Senga, Clay Holmes and David Peterson.
Canning, signed this offseason to a one-year deal after the Braves released him, tossed 14.1 innings and allowed three runs. Most importantly, he struck out 22 and only walked five behind a disgusting changeup and slider combo. He’s thrown those pitchers more frequently than he did five seasons with the Angels.
Megill, on the other hand, is the guy who always finds a way into the rotation. But this time, it wasn’t out of desperation. The 29-year-old cruised to a modest 4.24 ERA over 17 innings this spring—fairly regular numbers for Megill. The Mets needed a fifth starter to start the year, and Megill proved worthy. (We’ll get to the guy who didn’t in a second.) Even as Manaea returns in a month, the Mets could find themselves wanting to actually use the six-man rotation. Megill’s performance to start the year might make that decision for them.
Clover Park
Clover Park saw 106,027 fans come to spring training this year—the most since they moved to PSL. A fun 2024 helps. Juan Soto really helps. But Port St. Lucie I’m sure is happy with the attendance.
Paul Blackburn. Photo Credit: Sam Navarro-Imagn Images
The Losers
Paul Blackburn
Paul Blackburn was acquired last season to shore up the rotation. Eight months later, he finds himself out of the rotation and latching onto his Mets tenure with a spot in the bullpen.
Unfortunately for the 31-year-old, he’s been recovering from back surgery, but the results are the results: a 5.68 ERA in 12.2 innings with six walks and just nine strikeouts in his spring outings.
He’ll be the long man out of the bullpen—still an important role. But Blackburn might have gone from one of the few rotation guarantees at the start of the offseason to off the team if he starts the season slowly.
It’s never great when the de-facto captain of the team says—on the record—you look “bored” sometimes—that you only seem to get amped up when the stakes are higher in the big leagues. Acuña may still make the Opening Day roster because of injuries to other players, but he certainly didn’t earn it in spring.
He had the fourth-most plate appearances on the team (56), but his OPS was third-lowest among anyone with at least 20 PAs (.573). He was occasionally sloppy on the base paths and in the field, and all of this led to David Stearns saying the team would still be looking for a veteran right-handed bat to help the MLB team until they get healthy. That seemed to show a lack of confidence currently in Acuña. It at the very least shows they don’t want to reward the type of spring Acuña had because they feel they have no other option.
Photo Credit: Sam Navarro-Imagn Images
The Injured
Unfortunately, a bunch of core Mets went down during the spring, and that always stinks. It feels like there’s an air of caution all season around anyone who gets hurt in the spring, with fear of re-injury looming over each start.
This year, Sean Manaea and Frankie Montas—as previously mentioned—went down in the rotation. Manaea should be back within a month or so of the start of the season, and his injury seemed pretty minor. Montas, though, pulled a lat muscle and isn’t back for the first couple months of the season.
On the field, Francisco Alvarez and Jeff McNeil both got hurt. We’re still waiting on the full Alvarez breakout, and a tweaked swing might’ve been the key this year. It still could be, but he’ll be on the shelf until mid-May with a broken hamate bone. Those can linger with a hitter, especially if Alvarez hurt it swinging. McNeil, on the other hand, ended last season on fire, slashing .289/.376/.547/.923 with a 156 wRC+ over 149 plate appearances. He looked like a brand-new player, and we’ll have to wait a couple weeks to see if that carries over until 2025.
