Most folks assume that the Mets won't contend in 2024. That remains to be seen. Injuries and the team underperforming in the 1st half of 2023 led to a mid-season fire sale that saw Justin Verlander return to Houston, Tommy Pham shipped off to Arizona, and Max Scherzer went and won his 2nd title in 5 years with Texas, while Jacob deGrom, who signed with the Rangers prior to the 2023 season, was sidelined with Tommy John surgery.
So far, with 2 weeks remaining in the pre-season, the Mets' non-roster guests have played like they belong on the big club come March 28, including veterans Trayce Thompson Ji-Man Choi, and Jose Iglesias. All three can contribute as roster depth, as Choi can spell Pete Alonso at 1st, and serve notice to Alonso that he could be expendable in his walk year, a price paid for taking on Scott Boras Badenov as his agent.
Carlos Mendoza comes over from the Yankees as the new manager, after Buck Showalter was shown the door after 2 seasons. We'll miss the SNY crew queuing up some music from Ironside when there was an epidemic of hit batters during Showalter's tenure.
Infield: Iglesias, a journeyman whose resume includes stops in Boston & Detroit, can fill in for Francisco Lindor at short when needed, and has been tried out at 2nd as well. As much as the Mets are committed to Brett Baty & Mark Vientos at 3rd, Iglesias can play there, too. Vientos has also backed up Alonso, so there's plenty of insurance. Choi played in Pittsburgh last year after starting his career in Tampa Bay. As a plus, Luisangel Acuna, the brother of Atlanta star Ronald Acuna, Jr., is a possibility to make the big club if not at the start of the season, but later.
Outfield: Harrison Bader, who was with the Yankees & Cincinnati last year, and Tyrone Taylor (Milwaukee) are dueling for the center field job, while Brandon Nimmo is being tested in left. Jeff McNeil is injured and will start the season on the injured list. Starling Marte has come all the way back from injury issues last year, and will be back in right field. Trayce Thompson can and probably will be the 4th outfielder. As already seen, Thompson can add some thunder, as he has 2 homers already in Grapefruit League play.
Catcher: Tomas Nido is back, but will likely start the season in Syracuse as a non-roster invitee, as he was squeezed out by the emerging Francisco Alvarez, who likely will start over Omar Narvaez. Mendoza apparently only wants to carry two catchers (sensible), so Nido will be on call in case of an injury. Alvarez's rookie year was just as ridiculous as Alonso's was five years ago, with half as many homers.
Pitching: Carlos Carrasco is gone (back to Cleveland). Adrian Houser (Milwaukee) replaces him in a rotation that also includes Jose Quintana, Tylor Megill, Luis Severino (Yankees), and Sean Manaea (San Francisco), whom the Mets abused the last couple of years. The bullpen underwent its usual makeover, with Shintaro Fujinami & Jorge Lopez (Baltimore) and Jake Diekman (Tampa Bay) building a new bridge to Edwin Diaz. Kodai Senga starts the season on the IL as well. Uh-oh. Assuming Senga can pitch this season, and Joey Lucchesi makes the big club in 2 weeks, the Mets will again have an embarrassment of riches on the mound. What else is new?
Tanking is not an option.
Prediction: 3rd place, contending for a Wild Card.
Of course, I could be wrong.
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