Mets Morning News: Let the games begin!

Meet the Mets

Baseball is finally back today! Rick Porcello takes the mound for the Mets at home against the Marlins this afternoon, while Marcus Stroman will lead the away squad against the Cardinals.

ZiPS has the Mets finishing third in the National League East behind the Nationals and the Braves.

A lot of other projection systems are very high on the Mets heading into the 2020 season.

Scouts and executives discussed the outlook on Noah Syndergaard as he tries to rebound from a relatively iffy 2019 season.

J.D. Davis is ready to contribute to the 2020 Mets regardless of the ambiguity surrounding his role with the team.

Michael Conforto is hoping to break out this season as he gets closer and closer to free agency.

Marcus Stroman discussed his decision to change his number to zero for the 2020 season.

Rick Porcello is hoping that some small changes will result in a rebound from a less than stellar 2019 season.

While Yoenis Cespedes is making progress in his return from injury, he’s not quite ready to get some game action.

Luis Rojas shared a number of thoughts about Cespedes’s rehab up to this point.

Rojas’s presence is already impacting the general mood and confidence of the team.

Metsblog offered a scouting report on 2019 second-round pick Josh Wolf.

2000 Mets teammates Mike Hampton and Glendon Rusch will be paying a visit to Port St. Lucie in the beginning of March.

The Mets have added a real Terd to their organization, as they’ve signed Joey Terdoslavich to a minor league contract.

Minor league outfielder Ryan Shinn has been suspended for 50 games after testing positive for ritalinic acid.

Around the National League East

The Phillie Phanatic is reportedly ITBSOHL and will be revealing the changes he’s made over the offseason on Sunday.

Don’t expect Juan Soto to slow down anytime soon.

The Braves’ relievers have high expectations for themselves.

Ronald Acuna wants to establish the 50-50 club this season by being the first major league player to hit 50 homers and steal 50 bases.

Mel Stottlemyre Jr. is hoping to get more from the Marlins’ pitching staff in his second season with the club.

Around Major League Baseball

Several MLB managers and GMs weighed in on some of the noteworthy issues facing the league this spring, including the sign-stealing scandal and the proposed postseason changes.

The league has been aware of the sign-stealing allegations against the Astros for quite some time.

Athletics manager Bob Melvin defended Mike Fiers after David Ortiz attacked the pitcher for reporting on the Astros’ illegal sign-stealing activities.

Tony Clark discussed several different angles of the sign-stealing controversy after a four-hour meeting with Astros yesterday.

Mark Teixeira explained the extent to which the Yankees attempted to steal signs during the time in which he was teammates with Carlos Beltran while noting that it was quite different from how the Astros did it.

Dave Roberts announced that Mookie Betts will be the Dodgers’ leadoff hitter this year.

Mitch Garver broke out last season, and there is every reason to believe that he will continue to be a force moving forward.

Malcolm X and Jackie Robinson were both important figures in the Civil Rights movement, but the two had a fairly large ideological beef with one another.

CBS Sports listed one prospect from each team that has a chance at contributing with the major league club this season.

This Date in Mets History

J.J. Putz, who was a bit of a putz on the field during his brief tenure with the Mets, turns 43 today.