{"id":36985,"date":"2025-02-26T06:40:26","date_gmt":"2025-02-26T06:40:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=36985"},"modified":"2025-02-26T06:40:26","modified_gmt":"2025-02-26T06:40:26","slug":"breaking-top-mets-prospects-keep-one-upping-each-other-in-war-for-nick-madrigals-roster-spot","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=36985","title":{"rendered":"BREAKING: Top Mets prospects keep one-upping each other in war for Nick Madrigal&#8217;s roster spot"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"article-intro mb-4 text-darkGrey font-group-large md:font-group-normal lg:font-group-large\">The competition for the final Mets bench spot is in full swing.<\/div>\n<div class=\"mb-4 flex items-center justify-between text-darkGrey font-group-bigger\">\n<div class=\"flex items-center\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/images2.minutemediacdn.com\/image\/upload\/c_crop,x_0,y_329,w_3159,h_1776\/c_fill,w_720,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto\/images\/ImagnImages\/mmsport\/229\/01jmzdj67r9kn4p8716j.jpg\" alt=\"Feb 19, 2025; Port St. Lucie, FL, USA; New York Mets infielder Brett Baty (7) catches a baseball during a spring training workout at Clover Park. Mandatory Credit: Sam Navarro-Imagn Images\" \/><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p id=\"inline-text-0\">The New York Mets made the unpopular decision to replace Jose Iglesias on their active roster over the offseason, citing the desire to have their final bench spot be more flexible. Instead of rostering Iglesias, who cannot be optioned down to the Minor Leagues without being DFA&#8217;d, the Mets would prefer to roll with an infielder who can be optioned down with no consequences, even if that means rostering a less talented player.<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-1\">Among those viewed to be in the running were veteran infielder Nick Madrigal and two younger infielders, Brett Baty and Luisangel Acu\u00f1a \u2014 each of whom came to the Mets organization with significant prospect pedigree but have slipped in the pecking order a bit recently. Madrigal seemingly had the upper hand over the youngsters, given he&#8217;s far more experienced at the MLB level, but his shoulder injury marked an end to his candidacy for that last position player spot on the roster.<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-2\">Barring a surprising addition, the last bench spot is presumably a two-horse race between Baty and Acu\u00f1a now. It&#8217;s safe to say that, based on how they&#8217;re playing, both of them want that spot desperately.<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"inline-text-4\">Luisangel Acu\u00f1a and Brett Baty are doing whatever they can to win final Mets Opening Day roster spot<\/h2>\n<p id=\"inline-text-5\">Acu\u00f1a led off Tuesday&#8217;s game for the Mets against the Houston Astros with a bang, singling to left field, stealing second, and advancing to third base thanks to a throwing error from Houston&#8217;s catcher. This set the stage for him to score on Jesse Winker&#8217;s single, giving New York an early lead.<\/p>\n<div class=\"flex flex-wrap\">\n<div class=\"flex mr-4 lg:w-[calc(70%-3em)] max-w-full\"><main><\/p>\n<div class=\"viewablity-block\">\n<div class=\"article-content\">\n<figure>\n<div class=\"twitter-tweet twitter-tweet-rendered\"><iframe id=\"twitter-widget-0\" class=\"\" title=\"X Post\" src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/embed\/Tweet.html?dnt=false&amp;embedId=twitter-widget-0&amp;features=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%3D%3D&amp;frame=false&amp;hideCard=false&amp;hideThread=false&amp;id=1894453741698322589&amp;lang=en&amp;origin=https%3A%2F%2Ffansided.com%2Ftop-mets-prospects-keep-one-upping-each-other-in-war-for-nick-madrigal-s-roster-spot&amp;sessionId=2ed2a3872f6a474d153b8a1d96b5b6bfdc1f0836&amp;siteScreenName=fansided&amp;theme=light&amp;widgetsVersion=2615f7e52b7e0%3A1702314776716&amp;width=550px\" frameborder=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\" data-tweet-id=\"1894453741698322589\" data-mce-fragment=\"1\"><\/iframe><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<p id=\"inline-text-7\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-secondary my-f-1\">Acu\u00f1a isn&#8217;t a major power threat like his brother, but he proved in record time the kind of menace he can be on the base paths. He practically manufactured this run all by himself, which is impressive.<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-8\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-secondary my-f-1\">As if that wasn&#8217;t eye-opening enough, Baty, a player often criticized for his inability to pull the ball in the air at the Major League level, yanked a home run to right field off of Hayden Wesneski \u2014 a legitimate MLB pitcher who might win a rotation spot for Houston \u2014 to give the Mets a two-run cushion. He&#8217;d single later in the contest as well, recording his second straight multi-hit game.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">BRETT BATY DINGER! \ud83d\udca3<\/p>\n<p>(via <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/SpaceCityHN?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@SpaceCityHN<\/a>) <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/dB7C2uXX0y\">pic.twitter.com\/dB7C2uXX0y<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; SNY (@SNYtv) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/SNYtv\/status\/1894466183581122700?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">February 25, 2025<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><\/main><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p id=\"inline-text-10\">It&#8217;s important not to overreact to spring training performances, but both Acu\u00f1a and Baty showed why they should be considered for that last roster spot on Tuesday. Acu\u00f1a might not offer as much upside with the bat as Baty, but he&#8217;s a solid defender at multiple positions and offers a speed element that Baty doesn&#8217;t. On the flip side, while Baty is really only a third baseman and doesn&#8217;t offer much speed, he has far more upside offensively than Acu\u00f1a, especially when he is able to lift the ball to his pull side and access his significant physical tools.<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-11\">At the end of the day, the best-case scenario for the Mets is that Baty and Acu\u00f1a make this final roster spot as difficult as possible for Carlos Mendoza. Both of them playing well accomplishes exactly that.<\/p>\n<figure><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The New York Mets made the unpopular decision to replace Jose Iglesias on their active roster, citing the desire to have their final bench spot be more flexible<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":36986,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-36985","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-mlb"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v23.6 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>BREAKING: Top Mets prospects keep one-upping each other in war for Nick Madrigal&#039;s roster spot - 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=36985\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"BREAKING: Top Mets prospects keep one-upping each other in war for Nick Madrigal&#039;s roster spot - NEWS USA\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The New York Mets made the unpopular decision to replace Jose Iglesias on their active roster, citing the desire to have their final bench spot be more flexible\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=36985\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"NEWS USA\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-02-26T06:40:26+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/PICTURE-1300-x-1500-px-116.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1300\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1600\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"MsNga\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"MsNga\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=36985\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=36985\",\"name\":\"BREAKING: Top Mets prospects keep one-upping each other in war for Nick Madrigal's roster spot - NEWS USA\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=36985#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=36985#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/PICTURE-1300-x-1500-px-116.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-02-26T06:40:26+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-02-26T06:40:26+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/#\/schema\/person\/7d8919f80fe19b5d17fd5541862a7b37\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=36985#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=36985\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=36985#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/PICTURE-1300-x-1500-px-116.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/PICTURE-1300-x-1500-px-116.jpg\",\"width\":1300,\"height\":1600},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=36985#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"BREAKING: Top Mets prospects keep one-upping each other in war for Nick Madrigal&#8217;s roster spot\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/\",\"name\":\"NEWS USA\",\"description\":\"Your Daily Dose of Sports News and Updates\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/#\/schema\/person\/7d8919f80fe19b5d17fd5541862a7b37\",\"name\":\"MsNga\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/ddc5cc36b52e56e3c9aa09d60c7293d0b8a7d5eb4bfe93f637ffa8cb25ea8ac7?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/ddc5cc36b52e56e3c9aa09d60c7293d0b8a7d5eb4bfe93f637ffa8cb25ea8ac7?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"MsNga\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?author=5\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"BREAKING: Top Mets prospects keep one-upping each other in war for Nick Madrigal's roster spot - NEWS USA","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=36985","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"BREAKING: Top Mets prospects keep one-upping each other in war for Nick Madrigal's roster spot - NEWS USA","og_description":"The New York Mets made the unpopular decision to replace Jose Iglesias on their active roster, citing the desire to have their final bench spot be more flexible","og_url":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=36985","og_site_name":"NEWS USA","article_published_time":"2025-02-26T06:40:26+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1300,"height":1600,"url":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/PICTURE-1300-x-1500-px-116.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"MsNga","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"MsNga","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=36985","url":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=36985","name":"BREAKING: Top Mets prospects keep one-upping each other in war for Nick Madrigal's roster spot - NEWS USA","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=36985#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=36985#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/PICTURE-1300-x-1500-px-116.jpg","datePublished":"2025-02-26T06:40:26+00:00","dateModified":"2025-02-26T06:40:26+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/#\/schema\/person\/7d8919f80fe19b5d17fd5541862a7b37"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=36985#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=36985"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=36985#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/PICTURE-1300-x-1500-px-116.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/PICTURE-1300-x-1500-px-116.jpg","width":1300,"height":1600},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=36985#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"BREAKING: Top Mets prospects keep one-upping each other in war for Nick Madrigal&#8217;s roster spot"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/","name":"NEWS USA","description":"Your Daily Dose of Sports News and Updates","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/#\/schema\/person\/7d8919f80fe19b5d17fd5541862a7b37","name":"MsNga","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/ddc5cc36b52e56e3c9aa09d60c7293d0b8a7d5eb4bfe93f637ffa8cb25ea8ac7?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/ddc5cc36b52e56e3c9aa09d60c7293d0b8a7d5eb4bfe93f637ffa8cb25ea8ac7?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"MsNga"},"url":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?author=5"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36985","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=36985"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36985\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":36987,"href":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36985\/revisions\/36987"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/36986"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=36985"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=36985"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=36985"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}