{"id":33442,"date":"2025-02-12T06:46:06","date_gmt":"2025-02-12T06:46:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=33442"},"modified":"2025-02-12T06:46:06","modified_gmt":"2025-02-12T06:46:06","slug":"breaking-mets-jeff-mcneil-begins-camp-as-likely-opening-day-second-baseman-but-carlos-mendoza-keeping-options-open","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=33442","title":{"rendered":"BREAKING: Mets’ Jeff McNeil begins camp as likely opening-day second baseman, but Carlos Mendoza keeping options open"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

\"'We're<\/p>\n

PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. \u2014 In these opening days of spring training, the Mets are exactly where any $300 million team expects to be: facing few questions about the makeup of their roster.<\/p>\n

The lineup is set. The rotation is mostly set. There are a couple of bullpen spots and maybe a bench gig up for grabs, but other than that, the Mets already pretty much know who they\u2019ll take to Houston for the March 27 opener and beyond.<\/p>\n

On the periphery, though, there are plenty of uncertainties \u2014 role changes and new positions and leftover injuries. Here is all the roster-related news and notes from manager Carlos Mendoza\u2019s first news conference of camp Tuesday:<\/p>\n

Who\u2019s on second?<\/h2>\n

Jeff McNeil \u2014 probably.<\/p>\n

Mendoza hedged on the question of whether McNeil is the no-doubt starter, saying that he is \u201cgoing to play a huge role\u201d and \u201cget a lot of opportunities\u201d for the Mets in 2025. But Mendoza also mentioned Brett Baty, Luisangel Acuna and recently signed utility infielder Nick Madrigal (and prospect Jett Williams) among those who also will get chances at second during camp.<\/p>\n

So McNeil almost surely will be the second baseman to start, but if he gets off to another slow start, the Mets have options.<\/p>\n

\u201cLook, Jeff McNeil is coming into camp here with an opportunity to be the second baseman,\u201d Mendoza said. \u201cThere’s competition but Jeff is pretty much right there. He’s a big part of this team . . . The good thing with Jeff is he provides versatility. So you can move him around everywhere.\u201d<\/p>\n

Around the horn<\/h2>\n

Elsewhere on the infield, Acuna (third base for the first time ever) and Madrigal (shortstop for the first time since he was a college sophomore in 2017) are going to try new positions.<\/p>\n

For Acuna, it\u2019s about continuing to expand his versatility and give the Mets options. They liked what they saw in his taste of the majors in September, so the more ways they can fit him onto the roster (at some point during the season), the better.<\/p>\n

For Madrigal, it\u2019s about solidifying the last bench spot. He lines up as the favorite. The Mets don\u2019t have a backup to Francisco Lindor, though, so if Madrigal proves capable enough, he can do that.<\/p>\n

Baty, meanwhile, will play second base in addition to his usual third. The Mets started that experiment after demoting him to Triple-A Syracuse last year. Barring injury, he doesn\u2019t have an obvious path to an Opening Day roster spot.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe want to see [Baty at second]\u00a0ourselves,\u201d Mendoza said. \u201cThis is a guy who’s willing to do whatever it takes to make this club. He’s been very vocal about it in some of the conversations, whether it’s with [president of baseball operations David Stearns]\u00a0or myself through the offseason where it’s like, ‘We probably need you to play multiple positions,’ and he’s up for it. Now he’s got to go out there and compete and do it and be himself because he is a really good player.\u201d<\/p>\n

Pitching plans<\/h2>\n

With the Mets intending to deploy a six-man rotation most of the time, Mendoza mentioned three guys competing for that No. 6 slot: Griffin Canning, Paul Blackburn and Tylor Megill.<\/p>\n

Noticeably not included was Jose Butto, who will work strictly as a reliever, Mendoza said. That all but locks up another bullpen spot (since Butto cannot be optioned to the minors).<\/p>\n

\u201cWe just felt it was best for him and the team to keep him in that role as a multi-inning guy \u2014 that 40-to-45 range for pitches,\u201d Mendoza said.<\/p>\n

Megill may be at a disadvantage in the rotation battle, if only because he still can be sent to the minors. Canning and Blackburn cannot, so the Mets may well keep one in the rotation and use the other as a long man out of the bullpen.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf everyone is healthy, there’s going to be some tough conversations and tough decisions,\u201d Mendoza said.<\/p>\n

Canning said: \u201cThat\u2019s all you can ask. Competition brings out the best in guys.\u201d<\/p>\n

Injured, sort of<\/h2>\n

Among the Mets coming off surgery\u2026<\/p>\n

* Lefthanded\u00a0reliever A.J. Minter, who had left hip surgery in August, won\u2019t throw his first bullpen session until late February. The Mets intend for him to be ready to start the season, but\u00a0he isn\u2019t a lock.<\/p>\n

* Blackburn is \u201cmaybe a little bit behind,\u201d Mendoza said, but he, too, is expected \u201cto be fully built up by the time we break camp.\u201d He had surgery to repair a spinal fluid leak in October.<\/p>\n

* Infielder Ronny Mauricio won\u2019t play in exhibition games until mid-March. He has been out of action since tearing the ACL in his right knee in December 2023, the recovery from which has been complicated and slow.<\/p>\n

What about Starling Marte?<\/h2>\n

With Juan Soto in rightfield virtually every day and Jesse Winker at DH most days, Marte seemingly won\u2019t get consistent at-bats. That would be a big change for a $19.5-million-per-year player who has been a regular when healthy.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen he’s healthy, he’s an impactful player,\u201d Mendoza said. \u201cThe reps in right field will be limited, for obvious reasons. Those are the conversations I’ll continue to have with him, whether it’s DH with him and Jesse. If he doesn\u2019t see his name in the starting lineup, he might get the biggest at-bat of a game, and he’s got to be ready for it. He’s got a huge role on this team. We’ve just got to keep him healthy.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n

Tim Healey is the Mets beat writer for Newsday. Born on Long Island and raised in Connecticut, Tim has previously worked for the South Florida Sun Sentinel, the Boston Globe and MLB.com. He is also the author of \u201cHometown Hardball,\u201d a book about minor league baseball in the northeast.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

While the manager wouldn’t commit to McNeil being the no-doubt starter, that will be his probable role when the Mets go to Houston for the opener on March 27. However, should he get off to a slow start, the team has multiple options.\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":33444,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-33442","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-mlb"],"yoast_head":"\nBREAKING: Mets' Jeff McNeil begins camp as likely opening-day second baseman, but Carlos Mendoza keeping options open - NEWS USA<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=33442\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"BREAKING: Mets' Jeff McNeil begins camp as likely opening-day second baseman, but Carlos Mendoza keeping options open - NEWS USA\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"While the manager wouldn't commit to McNeil being the no-doubt starter, that will be his probable role when the Mets go to Houston for the opener on March 27. 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