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Meet the Mets
As Steven Matz vies to remain in the Mets rotation, he threw for the second straight day on Tuesday, including from the mound. Pitching coach Dan Warthen indicated he looked “pretty decent.”
Manager Terry Collins relayed to Robert Gsellman, with whom Matz is competing, that the pitcher will almost definitely be with the big league club for the start of the season, though whether it’s in the rotation or out of the bullpen has yet to be determined.
Speaking of this wealth of pitching—it’s no wonder MLB.com’s Anthony Castrovince ranked the Mets’ rotation the best in baseball.
This spring, Yoenis Cespedes is putting in work in the batting cage toward a potential MVP season.
With Jay Bruce in tow and a (hopefully) healthy Lucas Duda, the Mets’ offense should be much more potent than it was a season ago.
Around the NL East
New Braves pitcher Bartolo Colon has morphed into the ultimate clubhouse leader. Here’s how.
Fish Stripes previewed the Marlins rotation.
The Phillies possess a surplus of mediocre catchers as they wait for the arrival of backstop prospect Jorge Alfaro.
The Nationals placed power-hitting outfielder/first baseman Clint Robinson on waivers.
Around the Majors
SB Nation dropped a massive season preview today.
As part of the preview, Grant Brisbee aimed to figure out how games have gotten so much longer over the past 20 years.
FanGraphs’ Jeff Sullivan used spring training data to determine whether the MLB strike zone is already shrinking.
Yesterday at AA
Rafael Montero earned a spot in the Mets bullpen.
Backup catcher Kevin Plawecki, however, was not as fortunate—the 26-year-old was optioned to minor league camp, meaning the team will ride with Travis d’Arnaud and Rene Rivera.
This Date in Mets History
A pair of firsts on this date in 2000: Mike Hampton made his first start for the Mets; played in Japan’s Tokyo Dome, it was also the first ever Opening Day game not played on North American soil.