PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla -- Although Spring Training has reached its end, the uncertainty surrounding the Mets -- and all teams -- never really dissipates. Even in this gap between the Grapefruit League and regular season, plotlines abound.
With that in mind, it¡¯s time to dig into your questions about the 2025 team. Queries were taken from social media and edited for clarity.
Aren¡¯t the Mets looking to add a right-handed bat? Why not keep Alexander Canario and send Luisangel Acu?a down for now? -- @PoliticalG4
Canario developed quite the fanbase late in Spring Training, in large part because of the two home runs he hit Sunday. He completed Grapefruit League play with a 1.030 OPS.
But there¡¯s no space for a seventh outfielder on New York¡¯s roster, with Juan Soto, Brandon Nimmo, Tyrone Taylor, Jose Siri, Jesse Winker and Starling Marte all healthy. Therefore, there¡¯s no space for Canario. The Mets can¡¯t simply carry him instead of Acu?a, because that would leave them without a backup infielder.
The only realistic way Canario stays is if the Mets imminently find a trade partner for Marte ¡ but the latter is a 36-year-old of questionable health set to make $20.75 million. Teams aren¡¯t exactly clamoring to take on those sorts of contracts, especially at this time of year. (The Mets couldn¡¯t find a taker for Marte this offseason, and now, rival clubs have their budgets mostly set.) If the Mets were desperate, they could eat Marte¡¯s money and give the job to Canario, but they¡¯re not desperate.
Why would they be? It¡¯s important to remember the Mets had acquired Canario not in hopes of him making the team, but as insurance in case someone else could not. As things happened, both Marte and Nimmo came out of camp healthy, as did every other Mets outfielder.
It¡¯s also worth noting that -- apologies in advance here -- Alexander Canario is not Mike Trout. He was never an elite prospect, and he¡¯s now an almost 25-year-old whom the Cubs were willing to trade for cash. His spring homers came against George Soriano, Connor Gillispie and Calvin Faucher. (If you find yourself asking, ¡°Who?¡± that¡¯s exactly the point.)
Marte, meanwhile, is a two-time All-Star who still hits the ball hard and should have an easier time staying healthy in a platoon DH role. It¡¯s not difficult to envision him outperforming his younger teammate.
Canario profiles as a solid bench player -- the type of outfielder the Mets would have loved to carry if they had space for him. They might be able to trade him for something interesting based on his spring production, and if that¡¯s the case, they should be -- and will be -- just fine with that.
As for Acu?a, the Mets value his defensive versatility but question whether he¡¯s ready at the plate. That¡¯s why they haven¡¯t officially named him to the roster. If the Mets replace Acu?a, however, it will be with a right-handed infielder from outside the organization -- not with Canario.
What¡¯s the plan for Ronny Mauricio? Will he come to the Majors when healthy? -- @zachruding
For the record, Mauricio is healthy right now. The Mets are simply taking him along slowly in his first spring back from multiple knee surgeries.
The plan is for Mauricio to begin appearing in back-fields games in two weeks and to start playing for Single-A St. Lucie by mid-April. By the end of next month, Mauricio should be ready to move to the upper Minors.
Only after Mauricio checks all those boxes will the Mets consider activating him -- and even then, they¡¯ll need to have an opening at the big league level. There¡¯s little doubt Mauricio will contribute at some point this season, but it probably won¡¯t happen until closer to the height of summer.
Why does it take a long time for Francisco Lindor to start hitting? Does this concern him, or does he view it as just part of baseball?-- @tedreednc
If Lindor had the answer to that question, he would have already fixed it.
Last year, Lindor was batting .190 as late in the season as May 18. Two years ago, he was hitting .211 on June 17. Since joining the Mets in 2021, Lindor has had three separate streaks of 0-for-20 or worse. These have regularly bogged down his early-season stat lines.
During these stretches, Lindor tends to chase pitches out of the strike zone and fail to get his barrel to the ball. He doesn¡¯t look like Francisco Lindor.
When asked about it, Lindor doesn¡¯t have a great answer as to why this keeps happening. He did slightly elongate his spring progression this year, hoping to ease into the season rather than sprint into it. Whether that works remains to be seen, but the Mets would certainly love to see peak Lindor out of the gate.
What is the organization looking for from the finally healthy Matt Allan? What a comeback it would be. -- @kphelan11
What a comeback it would be indeed. Right now, the Mets are still taking things carefully with their former top pitching prospect. It¡¯s possible he winds up a reliever at some point, but right now, team officials continue to view him as a starter. Allan recently hit 99 mph on the back fields in Spring Training. The Mets are going to continue stretching him out and pushing him until they find a reason not to.
There are two ways to view Allan. One is that after two Tommy John surgeries and three total arm operations, anything the Mets get from him is a bonus. The other is that a 23-year-old throwing 99 mph is a legitimate prospect, regardless of his history.
In Allan¡¯s case, both are true. Mets officials will be watching his career with interest.