Spring Training Game Chat: Mets vs Yankees, 1:00 PM

Friday, March 22, 2024 • 1:05 PM
George M. Steinbrenner Field • Tampa, FL
RHP Tyler Stuart (0-0, 0.00) vs. RHP Luis Gil (2-0, 2.31)
YES

For a second day in a row the Mets hit the road and play a team that is not named the St. Louis Cardinals, Houston Astros, Miami Marlins or Washington Nationals as they head across Florida to take on the New York Yankees in Tampa.

Yesterday was a pretty good day in Mets land. They beat the Detroit Tigers 10-5, hitting three home runs as Harrison Bader had his second of the spring, raising his spring OPS to .859 while Brett Baty launched his third and Zack Short blasted a grand slam to put the game out of reach against his former club.

A couple of hours after the game, the Mets announced that they signed J.D. Martinez to a one-year deal, ending a long search for a solution at DH. Martinez completely changes the Mets lineup and finally provides Pete Alonso with significant protection. The signing now makes it more difficult for DJ Stewart and Jiman Choi to break camp with the team in addition to likely reducing playing time for Mark Vientos.

Mets Lineup

1. Tyrone Taylor LF
2. Francisco Lindor SS
3. Pete Alonso 1B
4. Brett Baty 3B
5. Starling Marte RF
6. Francisco Álvarez C
7. Mark Vientos DH
8. Harrison Bader CF
9. Zack Short 2B

Opposing Lineup

1. Gleyber Torres 2B
2. Juan Soto RF
3. Aaron Judge LF
4. Anthony Rizzo 1B
5. Giancarlo Stanton DH
6. Anthony Volpe SS
7. Trent Grisham CF
8. Jose Trevino C
9. Kevin Smith 3B

Game Notes

RHP Nolan Clenney, RHP Jeffrey Colón, RHP Joshua Cornielly, RHP Paul Gervase, LHP Daniel Juarez, RHP Hunter Parsons and RHP Wilkin Ramos all travelled with the team and are candidates to appear in Friday’s game once Stuart’s outing is complete.

According to Joel Sherman of the New York Post, J.D. Martinez will not open the season with the Mets and instead will ramp up in either extended spring training or the minor leagues for about 10 days before officially joining the team.

Three Things To Watch For

1. Tyler Stuart gets a start! Tyler Stuart last pitched in a major league spring training game on February 26. He tossed two innings, allowing a hit, a walk and nothing else. Stuart was drafted by the Mets in the sixth round back in 2022 out of the University of Southern Mississippi. He had a tremendous 2023 campaign, making 21 starts and tossing 110 2/3 innings between Brooklyn and Binghamton with a 2.20 ERA.
2. Zack Short: Short doubled his RBI total this spring in one at-bat yesterday after hitting a grand slam. He’s slashing .303/.410/.485 over 15 games and 33 AB’s. Is his strong showing enough to grab one of the last bench spots on the team? After the Martinez signing, there’s probably room for only one of Vientos, Stewart, Choi and Short on the roster.
3. Brett Baty continues his recent surge: Baty has now hit home runs in consecutive starts. All of his homers this spring have come in March, and this month alone he is slashing .294/.385/.588 with hits in nine of his eleven games during that stretch. Let’s keep the momentum going into the regular season!

Let’s go Mets!

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