Coverage of Mets Spring Training
The New York Mets certainly look different going into their 2018 spring training, both in terms of their personnel and their physical appearance. The team’s turnover in the managerial position and the coaching staff saw as Mickey Callaway, the previous pitching coach of the Cleveland Indians, took over as manager and immediately has shown that he is going to be a straight-up “players” manager. One of Callaway’s first moves as manager was conducting a team-wide shark fishing tournament on the coast of Florida, a move he made in efforts to bring the team closer together, as an entirely new coaching staff takes over trying to form a bond with the team.
Not only is the personnel different on this 2018 Mets team, but their physical appearance is changing as well. One of the big side-stories coming into camp was the look of Jacob deGrom, the man who took over as ace of the staff last season, where he posted career bests in innings pitched and strikeouts. deGrom showed up having cut his signature hair, where he felt as if his signature locks were holding him back from his true potential. Of his hair, deGrom said "I did some research and I found that shorter hair actually will speed up my delivery and add two more miles to my fastball.” While the results of the move remain to be seen, deGrom clearly has high expectation of himself and for the upcoming season. Another player who looks totally different from last season is first base hopeful Dominic Smith, who shaved a modest 30 pounds this offseason, looking lean and strong as opposed to his 6 foot, 250 lbs frame he was rocking last season. On his new figure, Smith said, “I want to play around this weight. I just feel more like an athlete. Every time I came into spring training I’ve always felt like a good baseball player. But this is the first year I’ve felt like a good athlete.” Smith looks to prove the organization wrong and put up good numbers as opposed to his meager stats from last season.
In terms of the current roster of the Mets, one name has had more question marks than any other for the past few seasons, and I’m not talking about Tim Tebow (we’ll get to him later). David Wright, the captain, leader, and face of the franchise, who has not played a game for the Mets in over a year, and just 75 in the past 3 seasons, continues to face the sad reality that is his case of spinal stenosis, which has deteriorated his chances of getting back on a baseball field significantly. On top of the back injury, Wright has also dealt with shoulder and neck injuries within the past few seasons. Of his future in baseball, Wright says he, “just [doesn’t] know,” and that he “[has] a lot of the same questions that [we’re] asking,” a sad reality that Wright has brought up for the first time in his career. While we all hope for the major comeback that would be David Wright getting back to the major leagues, many fans and the Mets organization have prepared for his ultimate retirement, which would be a sad day for the Mets franchise, David Wright, and the entire baseball world.
In their prep to create a winning roster and replace the injured David Wright, the Mets have gone out and signed two-time all-star and home run derby champion Todd Frazier, their solution to the issue regarding the vacancy at third base following Wright’s lingering injuries. While this was probably the biggest signing to fill a gaping hole on the roster, other big moves that Sandy Alderson made included bringing back Jay Bruce, a former all star on a three-year deal, reliever Anthony Swarzak, and bringing in veteran first baseman Adrian Gonzalez on a MLB minimum contract to try to mentor the young Dom Smith. On his offseason, Alderson says he was “very happy” with how it panned out, explaining he “think that we benefited from the slow market.” Alderson also stated, "It allowed [the Mets] to make a deal, absorb it, think about it, move on to the next thing. And it gave [them] plenty of time to get through six or seven acquisitions." Not only is Alderson trying to create a winning organization in his managerial hirings, he has re-tooled the entire roster with experience and winning talent.
One of the sideshows of professional sports for the past couple seasons has been former Heisman award winner and NFL quarterback Tim Tebow making an effort to become a professional baseball player. This could certainly be the year Tebow makes it. Tim Tebow has gone about the whole effort professionally and dedicated, as he has come into camp in better baseball shape, albeit battling a minor heel injury. Tebow has lost about 15 lbs and completely immersed himself in the process of making it to the major leagues. On his time in the minor leagues, Tebow said, “I know people want to put a timetable on this, but I don't. I honestly feel as if I'm getting better. I still love the process." He has devoted himself to making it through the long bus rides of the minor leagues and very likely will see himself in the Major Leagues at some point, as general manager Sandy Alderson has come out and said he “thinks Tebow will play in the major leagues.” We hope for the best for Tebow.
Finally, one of the major hindrances of the past few seasons for the Metropolitans is being bitten by the injury bug. After practically every essential piece to last years team went down at some point in the season due to injury, the Mets made strides to prevent injury this coming season as they hired personnel to strictly monitor and enhance the durability of their players. They altered players workout routines in effort to reduce muscle tears or ligament damage. However, so far this spring the Mets have seen players such as Jay Bruce, Tim Tebow, Dominic Smith and Juan Lagares go down with injuries. Most have been very minor, but Dominic Smith had to undergo an MRI on his quad on Monday, thankfully which came back negative. If this is any indication, the Mets could be in for another long season, but the good thing is major players such as Noah Syndergaard, Yoenis Cespedes, Matt Harvey, and Michael Conforto have all come back strong from season-ending injury last season (Conforto is healthy, but the team isn’t rushing him into games until May). If this team can remain healthy, it will certainly compete for not only a division championship, but also potentially a league pennant.
Notes from Spring Training:
Matt Harvey has come into camp and so far in all of his bullpens, he has looked sharp. His pitches have movement, and the velocity appears to be back after having pitched through a stress fracture in his shoulder last season.
Rafael Montero, who is out of minor league options, has looked very good in his two innings pitched, striking out 4. Once a highly-regarded top prospect, the 27 year old looks to earn his keep in what would likely be a spot in the bullpen.
In his spring debut, Noah Syndergaard didn’t just look good, he looked dominant in two innings pitched. Stating he “didn’t feel like exerting a lot of effort,” he threw 11 pitches of 100 or more miles per hour, striking out two in 2 perfect innings.
Having gone out and signed left handed Jason Vargas, there is serious competition in the starting rotation for the fifth and final spot. Mickey Callaway hasn’t confirmed anything, but has said the likely rotation will include Noah Syndergaard, Jacob deGrom, Matt Harvey and Jason Vargas. Steven Matz, Zach Wheeler, Rob Gsellman and Seth Lugo, all extremely talented and high-ceiling pitchers, will be competing for the fifth and final spot in the rotation.
The Mets made a minor signing Monday, as they signed established Major Leaguer A.J. Griffin to a minor league deal. He will serve as insurance barring any injury to the eight top-priority starters.
Wilmer Flores may see some time in the outfield this season in order to get some playing time. In an interview with Flores, he stated he was willing to do whatever to help the team win, but his body language seemed to suggest he wasn’t thrilled with the decision. Flores has been one of the best slugging players against lefties over the past two seasons, and certainly would help the Mets in a platoon role.
Jacob deGrom left camp early last week for the birth of his second daughter. He arrived back to Mets camp this previous Saturday.
Following the events of the Marjory Stoneman Douglas school shooting, the Mets welcomed students to come and meet the players. All Major League teams also wore Stoneman Douglas hats to support the school in their difficult time.
One of the major position competitions is at catcher, where both Travis d’Arnaud and Kevin Plawecki have shown signs as to why they deserve the position. After they both talked with Hall of Famer Mike Piazza, the two have come out and said they will do whatever possible to win, and that they both just need to focus on doing all they can.
Gavin Cecchini, once a top prospect for the Mets, struggled last season. He responded by putting on 15 pounds of muscle and hitting a home run in his first spring training game. He said he feels “unbelievable.”
Yoenis Cespedes devoted his offseason to becoming more flexible so he can play the entire season without battling hamstring injuries that have plagued him for the past two seasons. He homered in his first spring training game against the disastrous Miami Marlins.
To finish on a light note, we may be seeing a sign that Tim Tebow may be the next Mickey Mantle. He tripped on a sprinkler head in defensive reps, eerily similar to an event that took place early in the Mick’s career. Will Tebow turn into the Mick? Hell no, but it’s always fun to draw comparisons between a former NFL quarterback and one of the greatest centerfielders in baseball history.