5 things to watch as Mets face Brewers in season-opening series
Here are five things to watch as the Mets begin the 2024 MLB season with a three-game series with the Milwaukee Brewers at Citi Field...
Will Luis Severino's spring training success carry over?
The Mets took a low-risk, high-reward gamble on Severino this offseason, signing him to a one-year deal with the hope that last season's poor performance was a blip.
It seemed like a smart move given Severino's success (when healthy) over the first seven seasons of his career, and the fact that his stuff was still there even through his struggles in 2023. And Severino was mostly dominant for the Mets in spring training.
Of course, spring training stats are mostly meaningless. But Severino's stuff looked fantastic, with his fastball sitting in the mid-90s and topping out at 98 mph. Overall, he had a 1.29 ERA and 0.71 WHIP in 14 innings.
The Mets don't need Severino to be an ace for the rotation to succeed, but with Kodai Senga out until at least May, having Severino performing at the level he was at from his rookie season through 2022 would be more than enough.
Of all the pitchers in the Mets' rotation not named Senga, it's Severino who possesses the highest upside -- by far. And he seems ready to harness it again.
He'll get his chance to start proving it when he takes the ball on Saturday in the second game of the season.
How does Starling Marte look?
Marte did not have much success in spring training, but -- as is noted above -- those stats are largely meaningless.
For Marte and the Mets, it was mostly about how he looked. And he looked healthy.
While Marte didn't have much success at the plate, he did not look uncomfortable (as he did for all of 2023 while he played hurt), he ran the bases well, and he looked like his pre-2023 self in right field, showing great range and a cannon of an arm.
The Mets' offense has a chance to be pretty good, and it's Marte who is the X-factor. If he comes even close to replicating the production he gave the team in 2022, it could vault the lineup to another level.
In a world where Marte struggles again, the Mets could possibly call on Drew Gilbert -- who will be a phone call away with Triple-A Syracuse. But Marte seems primed for a bounce back.
The revamped bullpen
Getting Edwin Diaz back will be huge for a relief corps that badly missed him last season, when the trickle down effect helped to doom the season. And beyond Diaz, the bullpen could be sneaky good.
David Stearns made it a point to add not only tons of depth to the bullpen in the offseason, but to fill it out with pitchers who aren't duplicative. Translation: most of the relievers have different stuff packages and/or come at hitters from different angles.
Beyond Diaz, the Mets have late-inning options including Brooks Raley, Adam Ottavino, and Jake Diekman.
But the most intriguing, high-upside arms are Jorge Lopez and Shintaro Fujinami, with the latter beginning the season with Syracuse.
Elsewhere, Drew Smith will be in a lower-leverage role than the one he was in last season, and Michael Tonkin should be able to provide multiple innings at a clip when needed.
As far as the aforementioned depth, it includes left-handed strikeout machine Nate Lavender, who will start the year with Syracuse but should make his big league debut -- and could contribute in a meaningful way -- this season.
The DH situation until J.D. Martinez arrives
As Martinez gets ready with at-bats in the minors, the Mets will have decisions to make each game at DH.
The most likely answer on Opening Day -- and most games until Martinez is ready -- is DJ Stewart, who excelled last season as he slashed .244/.333/.506 with 11 homers and nine doubles in 185 plate appearances over 58 games.
While Stewart provided tons of power last season, he also struck out a lot -- a rate of 30.3 percent.
With Mark Vientos starting the season with Syracuse and the bench consisting of Omar Narvaez, Joey Wendle, Tyrone Taylor, and Zack Short, it would make sense for the Mets to use a regular position player as the DH when Stewart isn't in there.
That could mean Pete Alonso, Marte, Brandon Nimmo, or anyone else who can use a break.
Are the Brewers contenders?
As the Mets try to reach the playoffs, they'll be doing so in what is expected to be a crowded field of Wild Card contenders that should include the Philadelphia Phillies, San Diego Padres, Arizona Diamondbacks, San Francisco Giants, Chicago Cubs, St. Louis Cardinals, and Brewers.
And if the Brewers are in the mix, it will make the road tougher for the Mets and every playoff hopeful that doesn't win its division.
Milwaukee won the NL Central last season while going 92-70, taking advantage of a weak division where no other team won more than 83 games.
This season, while the Brewers are not technically in a rebuild, they lost manager Craig Counsell to the Cubs and -- more importantly -- lost both of their aces.
They traded Corbin Burnes to the Baltimore Orioles and will be without Brandon Woodruff for the entire season due to shoulder surgery. They'll also be without All-Star closer Devin Williams for the first half of the season.
The Brewers still have a solid core built around Opening Day starter Freddy Peralta, Christian Yelich, Willy Adames, William Contreras, and prospect Jackson Chourio, but they could be facing an uphill climb to the playoffs.
