PORT STREET LUCIE — With one week left in the Grapefruit League season, Mets officials will be faced with roster decisions ahead of the March 28 opener.
Team officials had a good idea of the 26 players they planned to bring north before camp began. But the X-factor is always injury, and spring training performance can’t be completely ruled out.
The only serious casualty so far is Kodai Senga. Kodai Senga was diagnosed with tightness in his right shoulder last month and will not start the season with the club as he prepares to resume spring training.
Let’s take a look at the roster decisions the Mets still face:
Third base/DH
It would be surprising if both Brett Batty and Mark Vientos weren’t on the season-opening roster, but President of Baseball Operations David Stearns announced last week that he wanted to chart a different direction (primarily toward Vientos). He seemed to leave the door ajar and said the following: The Mets want to give young players a chance this season, but it doesn’t necessarily have to start on Opening Day.
Batty will be the regular third baseman, while Vientos will likely play that position occasionally and bat as the DH. The Mets also have Luke Voit in camp as a right-handed DH candidate, but the former Yankees first baseman hasn’t made much of an impact offensively.
starting rotation
Chiga’s rest early in camp created a vacancy, leaving Tyler Megill, Jose Butt, Joey Lucchesi and Max Kranjic open for a potential season-opening rotation.
If this were an in-person spring training game, that spot would likely go to Butt, the Mets’ top scorer in the Grapefruit League.
But Megill, the front-runner to start the season, has the most experience and has impressed team officials with offseason training, including developing a splitter. Megill, like Butt, was effective with the Mets after rejoining the team after last season’s trade deadline.
One scout who watched both pitchers this spring said Megill appears to be taking the approach of a veteran who is working on his pitching heading into the season, while Butt has already set his midseason form and is ready to work. He pointed out that he is trying to acquire.
Lucchesi was selected to Triple-A last week behind other players, while Kranjic injured his hamstring in his first exhibition start and was left out of the lineup.
Since Chiga won’t be back until May, there may be an occasional opportunity for Butt to receive the job as the sixth starter if Megill claims a spot in the rotation. Jose Quintana, Luis Severino, Sean Manaea and Adrian Hauser are also members of the Mets’ starting rotation.
bull-pen
There are several names for the two spots that may be available.
Key to these decisions will be pitchers who have no minor league options remaining. The group includes Michael Tonkin, Johan Ramirez, Sean Reid-Foley and Phil Bickford. If not on the major league roster, each must clear waivers to remain with the Mets.
Tonkin was a solid contributor for the Braves last season, appearing in four games in the Grapefruit League and not allowing an earned run. If there’s any reason to be wary of the right-hander, it’s his hard work last year, when he pitched 80 innings, but that shouldn’t be a big factor this early in the season. One scout noted that Tonkin was “a good pitcher on a good team” last season, and that should have a big influence on the Mets’ decision.
Ramirez told the Post over the weekend that offseason sessions with Pedro and Ramon Martinez in the Dominican Republic helped reinvigorate his career. Sinkers for right-handed pitchers are particularly difficult against right-handed batters. He appeared in five games this spring, with six strikeouts, no walks, and two hits, allowing no earned runs.
Reid Foley, like Tonkin and Ramirez, is a relief pitcher who can extend beyond three outs. The right-handed pitcher enjoyed a strong spring before being forced to stop pitching recently due to arm fatigue, but manager Carlos Mendoza expressed optimism that Reed-Foley would be able to return to action by the end of the week. Indicated.
Bickford had a shaky start to the exhibition season, but has improved over the last three games. However, the former Dodgers relief pitcher appears to be the underdog in the competition.
Shintaro Fujinami joined the team on a one-year contract worth $3.35 million, but has a minor league option remaining. Fujinami showed speeds of 98 mph this spring, but also struggled with control.
Edwin Diaz, Adam Ottavino, Brooks Lally, Jake Diekman, Drew Smith and Jorge Lopez are locked into the bullpen with major league contracts.
Left-handed DH/Benched
DJ Stewart’s bat has been quiet in spring training, and Ji-man Choi is enjoying a strong season in the Grapefruit League.
But Stewart was also one of the Mets’ best offensive performers in the second half of last season, hitting 11 home runs in just 157 at-bats. Going up against the former first-round pick by the Orioles is the fact that he could be optioned to the minors.
Choi can be released from his contract on Monday if he is not added to the major league roster. The veteran gives the Mets another option at first base, but Vientos has also been playing first base during camp.
