The Mets’ spring training finale on Monday offered a glimpse of how the Opening Day lineup on Thursday at Citi Field against the Milwaukee Brewers could shake up:
- Brandon Nimmo- LF
- Francisco Lindor- SS
- Pete Alonso- 1B
- Jeff McNeil- 2B
- Starling Marte- RF
- DJ Stewart- DH
- Francisco Alvarez- C
- Brett Baty- 3B
- Harrison Bader- CF
JD Martinez will need roughly weeks to ramp up toward playing every day in 2024 after signing with the Mets last week — just a week before the start of a new season. It means that he will not break camp with the team as it heads up to Queens.
“It kind of sucks,” Martinez said. “Obviously, I want to break with the team. I want to be there. I want to be there for Opening Day. That’s a special thing to be a part of but I’ve got to get my body ready. I’ve got to have my spring training now and I’ve got to get ready for the season.
“The last thing I want to do is kind of just rush through it and get hurt. So I want to make sure I take it slow and build my body up to get back out there.”
That allows DJ Stewart to at least make the Opening Day roster and prove himself worthy of sticking around the majors as his status on the big club appears to be in limbo even with the organization choosing him over Ji-Man Choi. Once Martinez is ready to go, things will change.
Jeff McNeil once again got the nod at cleanup, adding more fuel to the speculative fire that is him being the anchor of the middle of the Mets’ lineup at the start of the season. He has just 28 career plate appearances batting fourth (.333 batting average) with no home runs, two extra-base hits, and six RBI, but first-year manager Carlos Mendoza has lauded McNeil’s versatility throughout spring.
Starling Marte at No. 5 continues to suggest that Mendoza is not going to give him a first crack at batting second in the lineup, which was a spot he starred in two years ago as a fixture of a 101-win Mets team. Marte owns a .787 career OPS while batting fifth, but is not a traditional source of power in the middle of the lineup, which is perhaps something Martinez could be upon his debut.
