The New York Mets have had plenty going on this spring training, which isn’t exactly unexpected. The Mets made a lot of moves, and yesterday the man responsible for most of those moves, GM David Stearns, commented on a couple of the most relevant situations, including the status of shortstop Francisco Lindor and the hot positional battle that’s going on for the right-field job.
Lindor first. The shortstop has said he’s going to be ready for Opening Day after sustaining a stress fracture in his left hamate bone, and he started playing catch on March 2, according to Chuck King of MLB.com. Lindor is also starting to swing in the batting cage, but Stearns said he’ll need to play in spring training games before he can take the field.
“That would be a prerequisite,” Stearns said. “We would not have his first competition be Opening Day.”
The GM also said he’s happy with the progress that infielders Bo Bichette and Jorge Polanco have made learning their new positions, including the all-important nuances. Stearns added that “it’s not gonna be perfect,” then said they were progressing well.
The positional battle for right field has drawn a lot of interest, especially since prospect Carson Benge has done a lot more than blend in and look like he belongs. Benge boosted his average to almost .400 yesterday, and he certainly looks like he’s doing all the right things after Stearns and the Mets gave him a chance to take the job and run with it.
“I expect him to contribute to our team this year,” Stearns said. “There's no question about that. I think the way he has developed throughout his professional career indicates that he is reaching that level. Whether that's on Opening Day or not, I don't know.”
Translation: There’s a still a long way to go. The challenges will get tougher as pitchers stretch out and stop working on specific pitches and experimenting, and Benge will have to adjust.
The Mets also cleaned house with their coaching staff, and the GM said the team has achieved its goal of having a “well-run, efficient camp.” Stearns was also surprised and pleased by the level of competition in camp, which he indicated is surprising for a veteran team.
"A lot of times you come to Spring Training with a veteran team," he said, "and everyone's really just got Opening Day circled, and it's counting down the days to Opening Day. I think what we felt here is guys are taking every single day seriously.”