Spring will flourish again for the Mets and the rest of the teams once the COVID-19 pandemic dissipates. And when it does, the Mets will again prepare for a season that continues to look promising for them.
During the first month of practice, the Mets learned a lot about their roster, including the following:
The competition in the rotation is real. Now that the Mets have one of the most complete major league lineups and an improved relay, it’s easy to forget that this team is armed around its starting pitching. But the first few weeks of training were a reminder. In his last start in the Grapefruit League, Jacob deGrom shot 99-mph fastballs. It will be he who will open on Opening Day. Noah Syndergaard and Marcus Stroman were also effective this spring, while the three starting pitchers – Rick Porcello, Steven Matz and Michael Wacha – both had a ERA of better than 3.00. When Mets manager Luis Rojas has to choose his five starters, he will have a difficult decision to make.
Yoenis Céspedes can bat. (But can he field?) When the Cuban hit at the Mets’ camp, people stopped to watch him. He hit a good dose of home runs in practice, most recently against Seth Lugo in a simulated game. Cespedes was praised for his displays with the wood, with frequent home runs between left field and center. In the minds of most coaches, there is little doubt that Cespedes can be an offensive force right now in the big leagues.
The question is his defense. Although Cespedes also demonstrated a strong arm during defensive practices, he never ran at full speed or zigzagged routes. The next few weeks will allow Cespedes to continue working on his legs after multiple heel and ankle surgeries, so all eyes will be on him once the camp reopens.
Jed Lowrie is not close to returning. While it is true that Lowrie did live batting practice and performed a dople-play play in practice, it must be remembered that he did all of that using a protector on his left leg. And while you’re using that, you might have trouble running at full speed, according to general manager Brodie Van Wagenen. But Lowrie said the protector makes him feel more comfortable. It’s an issue for the Mets to resolve if they want to take something of value out of Lowrie.
Rojas will be fine. Few had doubts about that when training began, but it is worth confirming after a month of camping. The players spoke positively about Rojas, who coached several of them in the minors. In the camp there were no problems. And there has been nothing to report on his way of getting along with the media, the great doubt that existed before spring.
Overall, nothing significant has gone wrong for the Mets yet, whose biggest negative news was the injury of Michael Conforto, an irrelevant matter now. The real test for Rojas will be when something serious goes wrong. But at the moment, he’s passed all the tests as the Mets prepare for the 2020 season.
Feeling
On the field, the players spoke wonderfully about how well they had felt with Luis in the weeks they were on the field.
– .
