Before Tuesday’s game was called, the two youngest players on the Mets’ active roster were scheduled to bat No. 4 and No. 5 in the lineup. This was a game-changer for a club that had gotten off to a slow start, losing the first four games of the season. Several veterans.
Francisco Alvarez has already moved up in cleanup, and Brett Batty has slipped in behind the catcher amid a solid start to the season.
Batty’s rise coincided with the fall of left-handed hitter Jeff McNeil, who was batted all the way to No. 7 against Detroit’s right-handed hitter Casey Mize.
McNeil started the season 1-for-12 at bat after a shortened spring training paused due to soreness in his left bicep, but was 0-for-13 in the Grapefruit League.
The 2022 batting champion only hit .270 last year and lacked much strength, so he started this season with more concerns.
Coach Carlos Mendoza said he hopes some adjustments to the lineup will “allow him to get here.”
The 31-year-old McNeil is used to batting first or in the middle of the lineup, and Mendoza said he has talked with McNeil about the possibility of hitting in the lineup this spring.
“He doesn’t care where he is in the lineup,” Mendoza said before the Mets-Tigers game at Citi Field was rained out.
The Mets’ offense has been their biggest challenge since the beginning of the year, giving up eight runs in four losses. The only bright spot was Starling Marte (hitting No. 6), Alvarez and Batty, a trio that hit three of the club’s first four home runs.
At 22 years old, Alvarez has already emerged as one of the current mainstays. Batty, 24, who struggled to adjust to major league pitching during his rookie year last season, could join Alvarez in the youth movement.
“It can be tough to get these young hitters to bat in the middle of the lineup, especially early in the season, but I like the at-bat,” Mendoza said. “I like the aggressiveness with which they pitch into the strike zone. They don’t chase as much. Batty had a really good game. [Monday], hit two balls firmly. Alvarez continued to have good at-bats. ”
J.D. Martinez had “seven or eight” at-bats Monday in Port St. Lucie and was expected to have about the same number Tuesday, Mendoza said.
The earliest the Mets could call up their designated hitter (barring injuries to other players) would be Sunday, the day the series in Cincinnati ends.
The series in Atlanta begins Monday.
Mendoza said the team will discuss in the coming days whether Martinez will be called up once he becomes eligible, whether he will receive additional at-bats at the Mets’ facility or go to an affiliate.
Coach Mendoza said the decision rested primarily with Martinez, who was not officially signed until March 23.
“This is pretty fast growth for him,” Mendoza said. “He knows his body better than anyone.”
Kodai Senga felt good after pitching for the second consecutive day on Monday for the first time since suffering right shoulder tightness.
Chiga is still pitching from the ground and said he doesn’t know when he will graduate to the mound.
