213 Miles From Shea

The Mets are on TV three days in a row?

After being starved of Mets baseball for a week, we are feasting this week!

Tonight we’ll get to see our first televised look at David Peterson this spring. Peterson had a tale of two seasons in 2025. Before the All-Star break he had a 3.06 ERA over 109 innings. After the break his ERA jumped to 6.34 over 59 2/3 innings. His WHIP jumped as well going from 1.239 to 1.609. A step towards first half of the season David Peterson would go a long way for the Mets in 2026.

Three Things To Watch For:

1. David Peterson. Peterson made his spring debut last week in an exhibition game against Israel where he looked great. He held hitters to only one hit and two walks over three shutout innings while striking out four. His stats though are in a weird liminal space because it wasn’t an official Grapefruit League game, so today is his official Grapefruit League debut and he’ll officially start collecting spring training stats today.
2. Almost an Opening Day Infield. The Mets have Polanco at first, Semien at second, Bichette at third today with Alvarez behind the plate. With the exception of Lindor or Mauricio at short, this is pretty close the Mets Opening Day infield. There are a lot of questions around the Mets experiment putting Bichette at third and Polanco at first, and today we’ll get a look at their chemistry on the diamond together.
3. Brett Baty in Right. This is the second game we’ve seen Brett Baty in right field as he continues to battle for an Opening Day spot. Baty is also have a strong spring at the plate going 4-for-10 with a double, home run and a stolen base. Baty has to develop into a super utility player to get consistent at bats this season. Slotting in him to right field is one way to make that happen!

Let’s Go Mets!

The Mets play their first night game at home tonight in St. Lucie! The Mets (and their opponents) have radically increased the amount of night games played in spring training over the last two years. What used to be a rare phenomenon will happen a total of seven times this spring.

Brandon Waddell was supposed to start tonight but has been sidelined with a shoulder issue. He pitched 31 1/3 innings for the Mets in 2025 spread over 11 games with a 118 ERA+. Zach Thornton, the Mets 5th round pick in 2023, will get the start instead!

Three Things To Watch For:

1. Zach Thornton. Thornton is coming off of a strong 2025 campaign where he made 14 starts totaling 72 2/3 innings between Binghamton and Brooklyn. he had a 1.98 ERA and 0.812 WHIP. His tremendous season was stopped y an oblique injury. MLB Pipeline has Thornton listed as the Mets #15 prospect with a 2027 ERA. The Mets are hoping for another healthy season of development for Thornton in 2026.
2. Still searching for his first spring hit. Ryan Clifford is still searching for his first 2026 spring training hit. Over eight eight games Clifford has gone 0-for-13 with a run off of three walks (.235 OBP) while striking out six times. It’s still way too early to panic, the Mets top prospect is coming off of a season where he had an .826 OPS over 579 plate appearances across Binghamton and Syracuse.
3. Three Potential Opening Day Right Fielders. You could make a case for Mike Tauchman, Carson Benge or Tyrone Taylor as the Mets Opening Day right fielder and all three are starting in the outfield today (there are of course other players competing for that spot as well not on the field today). All three are putting up impressive springs. Tauchman is currently 4-for-11 with three doubles, a homer and two walks (1.442 OPS). Benge has gone 7-for-20 with a stolen base and only three strikeouts. Taylor has gone 4-for-15 with a double, two home runs and six RBI’s (1.027 OPS).

Let’s Go Mets!

The Mets finally return to our televisions today on WPIX and it’s a good one! The Yankees are in town for a Grapefruit League Subway Series game. Freddy Peralta will pitching in an easy to watch baseball game! The only downside is there’s too much baseball with the Dominican Republic, Netherlands, Colombia, Cuba, Great Britain and Italy all playing at the same time!

Three Things To Watch For:

1. Freddy Peralta. Peralta looked good in his first spring start last week going three innings, striking out three and didn’t allow any runs or hits. We are heading into pitchers second start of spring so we’ll be watching for how many pitches they want Peralta to throw today. Before the game, Carlos Mendoza said to expect him to throw about 55 pitches. Peralta is coming off of his first 33 start season, his third 30+ start season in a row. He hit a career high in innings last year at 176 2/3.
2. Francisco Alvarez. Alvarez has gone 2-for-5 at the plate in official spring training games this year with a double and a walk. As a hitter, he is 1-for-1 in ABS challenges. As a catcher, he is 0-for-1. We’ll be watching today to see if he does any more challenges to add to his very small-sample size of challenging chances.
3. Jorge Polanco. Polanco had five chances in his first spring training game and had five put outs with zero errors. He’ll get more reps at his new position today! Polanco has had a slow start to the spring at the plate going 0-for-5 over his first two games.

Let’s Go Mets!

Tomorrow.

Tomorrow you will be able to watch the Mets in the New York metro area without MLB.TV, logging on to a single camera in a ballpark on another team’s website, or hoping that someone in the stands is live streaming the whole game.

What we are missing today is one of the more important spring debuts – Kodai Senga. Senga pitched 73 2/3 innings over his first 13 games with the Mets in 2025 with a 1.47 ERA, 3.24 FIP. The Mets went 9-4 in those games. He was a different pitcher when he came back from injury, totaling only 39 2/3 innings over nine games with a 5.90 ERA and a 5.76 FIP. The Mets went 5-4 in those games. He accepted a move to the minors to end the season to work on his mechanics. If the Mets get the first half of 2025 version of Senga back, they will have another ace in their rotation. Today is the first step in finding out who Senga will be!

Three Things To Watch For:

1. Kodai Senga. Sean Manaea had an effective outing yesterday, but his velocity was quite a bit lower (3-4 mph) than it was last year. Way too early to panic about Manaea, but that’s also a reminder of what we should look at for Senga this afternoon. Senga’s fastball averaged 94.7 mph in 2025, which was down from 95.8 in 2024 (95.7 in 2023 when he had a full season). His cutter was also down a bit in 2025 sitting at 89.6 mph and it was 90.8 in 2023.
2. Cristian Pache. All Pache does this spring is hit. The former top prospect is trying to break onto the Mets roster as a non-roster invitee. Over six games he has gone 8-for-13 with two doubles, a home run, a stolen base and two walks (.615/.667/1.000).
3. Bo Bichette. Is Bichette having a quietly good spring? Or are all the Mets having a quiet spring because they just haven’t been on SNY for a week? Anyway Bichette has played in five games far this spring going 4-for-12 at the plate with a double (.333/.308/.417). He has been as advertised, meaning he’s getting on base and already has two RBI’s.

Let’s Go Mets!

We have spring training night games!

The Mets will play their first of seven night games tonight. Night games in spring used to happen only a handful of times, but last year the number spiked for Mets. This year the Mets are playing around the same amount as 2025.

The Mets are slowly working in their regular stars into spring training action this week. Yesterday Brett Baty got time in right field and Jorge Polanco made his debut at first. Today Sean Manaea will make his spring debut with Kodai Senga following tomorrow. After injury plagued seasons in 2025, the Mets success in 2026 depends on both Sean Manaea and Kodai Senga.

Three Things To Watch For:

1. Sean Manaea. Mid-way through 2024, Sean Manaea dropped his arm angle and it was a revelation. He finished the season going 12-6 over 32 starts and 181 2/3 innings with a 3.47 ERA, 3.83 FIP, 1.084 WHIP, 114 ERA+ and a 3.0 bWAR. Last season Manaea battled injuries which held him to 60 2/3 innings over 15 games (12 starts) posting a 5.64 ERA, 4.39 FIP, 1.220 WHIP, 72 ERA+ and a -0.4 bWAR. We are hoping to see a healthy and effective Manaea tonight!
2. Carson Benge. Benge has been getting on base at a healthy .357 clip this spring with a .308 BA. But if you look only at his official spring stats, you’ll see a “disappointing” .308 SLG (.665 OPS) because in official spring games it has been all singles. In his last game against Israel though he hit his first homer of spring. Flash some power tonight Carson!
3. The future is bright! AJ Ewing is one of the fastest rising prospects in the Mets system, landing on the Baseball Prospectus (#38), MLB Pipeline (#97) and Baseball America (#83) top 100 lists this season. He’s off to a terrific start this spring going 3-for-8 with three runs scored, a double, a home run, a walk and a stolen base (1.239 OPS).

Let’s Go Mets!

The Mets take another step today back to normal spring training baseball. The last two days the Mets have taken on Nicaragua and Israel in a series of exhibition games leading up to the WBC. With a chunk of the Mets stars away for the WBC for at least the next few days, things are a bit quieter in camp.

There are a couple of things that happened yesterday that are worth noting. Christian Scott took the mound for the first time since his Tommy John surgery in 2024. He 2 2/3 scoreless innings scattering two hits and five strikeouts. Carson Benge smashed a homer. The Mets also reassigned to Nate Lavender to minor league camp.

The eyes on the baseball world are on the WBC, but if you have access to the Nationals local broadcast, your eyes could be on the Mets today!

Three Things To Watch For:

1. Justin Hagenman. Hagenman pitched 23 2/3 bullpen saving innings for the Mets in 2025 over nine games with a 4.56 ERA, 3.77 FIP, 1.099 WHIP and an 89 ERA+. Over two games this spring he has pitched 5 1/3 innings allowing three runs from six hits and three walks while striking out seven. Hagenman enters 2025 with two minor league options left. His two options, plus his experience last year, makes him a leading candidate for an emergency start or bulk work with an opener.
2. Miles Mikolas. The east coast of the Grapefruit League is weird. There are five teams and three of them play in the NL East. Eventually we get to a point in spring where the NL East teams start to put their starting pitchers in the backfields and minor league games for longer outings and to “hide” them from the hitters in the other dugout. The Nationals are not doing that with Miles Mikolas today. The Nationals signed Mikolas after trading MacKenzie Gore to the Rangers. Mikolas is on the Nationals to eat innings and make starts. He’s made at least 31 starts in four consecutive seasons. Last season he had a 4.84 ERA, 5.03 FIP, 1.318 WHIP and an 85 ERA+.
3. Jorge Polanco. Jorge Polanco officially makes his Grapefruit debut at first base today. Polanco made his Clover Park debut on Tuesday against Nicaragua going 0-for-3 at the plate but that was technically an exhibition game. The questions around Polanco aren’t around his hitting, they’re around his new fielding position. If you have the ability to watch the Nationals broadcast, let us know how he looks out there!

Let’s Go Mets!

Mets faithful, we are midway through the longest spring blackout period! Monday the Mets had the day off. Tuesday the Mets took on Nicaragua in a WBC tune up game with no TV or radio coverage. Today the Mets take on Israel with no coverage. Tomorrow the Mets head to the Nationals who will carry game on their television and radio station. The Mets won’t televise a game until Sunday, a full week after their last broadcast. This is quite the stretch without the Mets.

What we’re missing is live-ish coverage today of Nolan McLean on the backfields. Nolan McLean is still in Mets camp after developing vertigo-like symptoms and is set to have another tune up start before heading off to Team USA to take on Italy on March 10th. He was originally slated to start USA’s exhibition game today. While Nolan McLean is starting on the backfields, David Peterson will make his spring (but not Grapefruit League) debut this afternoon!.

Three Things To Watch For:

1. David Peterson. Peterson was crucial member of the 2024 Mets rotation putting up a 2.9 bWAR in just 121 innings with a 136 ERA+. Last season he was an All-Star with a 1.4 bWAR, 4.22 ERA, 3.48 FIP, 1.370 WHIP and a 95 ERA+ over 168 2/3 innings. It was a tale of two seasons for Peterson in 2025. In the first half of the season he tossed 109 innings over 18 starts with a 3.06 ERA. In the second half he tossed just 59 2/3 innings over 12 starts with a 6.34 ERA. His ERA jumped from 1.239 to 1.609. If the Mets get the first half 2025 Peterson again this season, they can be a really dangerous team.
2. Adbert Alzolay. In 2023 Azolay pitched 64 innings with the Cubs over 58 games with a 2.67 ERA, 3.02 FIP, 1.016 WHIP and a 160 ERA+. His next season was cut short due to injury and then the Mets signed him before the start of the 2025 season to a two-year minor league deal, with an eye on this season. So far this spring he has allowed one run from three hits while striking out one batter over two innings. He could be an x-factor signing for the Mets out of the bullpen this year.
3. Backup Catcher Competition. The Mets catcher situation is fairly set with Francisco Alvarez and Luis Torrens taking on most of the catching duty. The Mets have had some moments over the last few years that required them to go deeper on their depth chart (who can forget the heroics of Patrick Mazeika and Hayden Senger). So they have a few more faces in camp. Ben Rorvedt is on the 40-man roster now with Senger. Senger this spring is 2-for-11 with a home run and two runs scored. Not on the roster are prospects Kevin Parada, Chris Suero and today’s DH – Austin Barnes. The long time Dodger is having a strong spring so far going 4-for-8 at the plate with three doubles and a walk (.500/.556/.875). Something to keep an eye on as camp continues.

Let’s Go Mets!

The World Baseball Classic is upon us! Participating countries are playing a couple of exhibition games this week before the tournament kicks off for real. First up for the Mets is Nicaragua, led by Mark Vientos!

For the Mets, today is just business as usual as players are continuing to get their reps in after a day off of Monday. The Mets made their first round of roster moves on Monday, optioning Alex Carrillo to Syracuse and assigning two players (Anderson Severino and Matt Turner) to minor league camp. Believe it or not, there are only 19 more days until the last spring training game!

Three Things To Watch For:

1. Jonah Tong. Tong allowed three runs over 2 2/3 innings in his start from three hits while striking out two batters. He also debuted his new cutter. Tong tossed his new cutter 18 times out of 50 pitches. It’s clear he’s trying things out right now, so the results are not as important right now. What percentage of his pitches will be cutters today?
2. Mark Vientos. The Nicaragua team is anchored by Mark Vientos! Vientos had a terrific year in 2024 putting up a 3.1 bWAR slashing .266/.322/.516 with a 134 OPS+. Last year he dropped to a 97 ERA+. This season Mark Vientos and Brett Baty face a crowded roster to get playing time. He hasn’t gotten off to the best start this spring, going 1-for-13 with a double. Being one of the more established players on the Nicaraguan team, he should get a lot of playing time over the next couple of weeks.
3. Jorge Polanco. Polanco makes his spring debut at DH. Signed to replace Pete Alonso, Polanco is coming off a solid season with a 2.6 bWAR while slashing .265/.326/.495 and a 134 OPS+. He has a career 112 OPS+ and 20+ HR power potential.

Let’s Go Mets!

Mets camp is starting to get a bit lighter, but not because of cuts!

The World Baseball Classic starts this week and participating teams are starting their workouts with exhibition games happening Tuesday and Wednesday this week. The Mets have about 16 players departing camp including today’s starter, Clay Holmes.

With that many players departing the team for at least the next week or so, the Mets will have a lot more spots for players fighting for roster spots to get more significant playing time. We see it a bit today with almost every player* fighting for the right field spot, except for Brett Baty, getting a start.

*MJ Melendez is playing for Puerto Rico starting this week, and won’t be in Mets camp.

Three Things To Watch For:

1. Clay Holmes. After today Holmes will head off to join Team USA with Nolan McLean. Ace pitchers Paul Skenes and Tarik Skubal have made public commitments about limiting the amount they are willing to pitch in the WBC. If team USA goes far, this increases the chances for Holmes to get more reps. Potentially this is a good thing for Holmes. The Mets have to face the Nationals and Marlins a lot in spring training. It’s not a bad thing to get Holmes more reps against major league quality hitting that are on different teams. Holmes went deep in his first start of spring, pitching 3 2/3 innings allowing two runs off of one hit and two walks while striking out three.
2. Right Field Competition Check In. Carson Benge, Mike Tauchman, Cristian Pache and Tyrone Taylor are all getting the start today. Benge has gotten off to a very hot start this spring going 4-for-10 with a stolen base and two runs scored. He has only struck out twice. Cristian Pache has been major surprise going 7-for-10 with a double and a home run (.700/.700/1.100). Everyone involved is doing everything they have to do to prove they should be starting right fielder.
3. Jack Wenninger. Wenninger is scheduled to get his second spring training outing this afternoon. He did well in his first game, scattering two hits and two walks over two innings while striking out three. Wenninger is part of the next group of Mets starting pitching prospects behind Nolan McLean and Jonah Tong.

Let’s Go Mets!

If you were watching Nick Burdi’s second outing this spring on Saturday, 2/28, you heard Steve Gelbs go over Burdi’s injury history. He’s had two tommy john procedures and one procedure for thoracic outlet syndrome. Burdi keeps pushing through the tough times, and is hoping to make the Mets at some point this season.

Burdi was drafted twice by the Minnesota Twins. First in 2011 (11th round) and then again in 2014 (2nd round) after he went to the University of Louisville. The Twins left him unprotected in the 2017 Rule 5 draft, where the Phillies selected him and then traded him to the Pirates. He would later make his major debut with the Pirates that season and stayed with the Pirates for a few seasons, getting 12 1/3 innings over 16 games with a 9.49 ERA.

Burdi showed promise for the Yankees in 2024 where he pitched in 12 games, totaling 9 2/3 innings with a 1.86 ERA, 5.44 FIP, 1.448 WHIP and a 224 ERA+. He earned a spot in the bullpen in spring training and with the team until a hip injury derailed his season in late May. In 2024 Burdi’s high-90’s fastball was good for the 94th percentile in the league. He had a small-sample size year, but his xBA of .158 and average exit velocity of 84 mph would have been in the top of the league if he tossed enough innings to qualify.

Over two outings this spring Burdi has allowed two runs from two hits, including a home run, while striking out one batter. All of the runs came in his first outing and his second outing was quite calm. It’s difficult to see a scenario right now where Burdi makes the Mets team out of spring training without either injuries to other players (or Burdi just goes on an incredible run for rest of the month). If Burdi can stay healthy, the Mets will probably call him up at some point this season. If he’s like his 2024 self, he could become one of those NRI signings we talk about every spring when evaluating players.