Spring training has been fairly uneventful for the Mets so far, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing. You could say the roster is starting to take shape, but that probably wouldn’t be accurate since the Major League was mostly in place before camp even opened up.
The only position battle is in the bullpen. There are two spots open in the bullpen, which doesn’t exactly make for the most intriguing competition. The Mets have been relatively healthy so far with the exception being left-hander Jose Quintana, and there are plenty of replacements for his rotation spot already.
The prospects have been the talk of the town this spring. Third baseman Brett Baty, third baseman/first baseman Mark Vientos, shortstop Ronny Mauricio and catcher Francisco Alvarez have all handled themselves well over the last month, with the first three showing off their hit tools and Alvarez showing improvements behind the plate.
But any excitement surrounding those four should be curtailed for now. Grapefruit League stats don’t really tell the full story and they have some established Major League competition on the depth chart. The Mets have continued to say that they need all of them to be able to defend at the Major League level before the club will be comfortable using them every day, but beyond the defensive concerns, there are other reasons to start all four in Triple-A.
With that in mind, let’s take a look at how the 26-man Opening Day roster could look. Keep in mind, the Opening Day roster will not be the one they play with all season.
CATCHER: OMAR NARVAEZ, TOMAS NIDO
Tomas Nido is a homegrown backstop trusted by the entire pitching staff. Omar Narvaez was once regarded as a bat-first catcher but significantly improved his framing in recent seasons. The Mets have two years committed to him, which allows Alvarez to continue to develop in Triple-A.
For the fans complaining that Narvaez hasn’t hit in spring training: It doesn’t really matter. Spring training results matter very little for veterans like Narvaez. But the Mets will see plenty of Alvarez behind the plate as Narvaez heads to the World Baseball Classic to play for Team Venezuela.
After undergoing ankle surgery last fall, the club was slow to put Alvarez behind the plate. But the ankle has not been an issue for him this spring and he’ll get a chance …read more
Source:: The Mercury News