David Stearns addresses Kodai Senga, 3B battle and DH role as Mets Opening Day nears

PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. — As David Stearns approaches his first regular season leading the Mets' baseball operations staff, he has tried to be careful about jumping to conclusions based on the team's spring training performance.

For Stearns, the positive signs have come from the way the players came into camp prepared and approached their preparation, along with a strong environment being built under first-year manager Carlos Mendoza.

"I think we have a team that is going to be competitive – a good team," Stearns said on Friday afternoon. "It's a team that likely did not perform up to his talents a year ago, and many of those core pieces are back this year and I think are very motivated to have a good year."

The first major obstacle came with the loss of Kodai Senga, who is dealing with a moderate strain to the posterior capsule in his right shoulder. On the whole, the Mets pitching staff has picked up the slack to generate the lowest spring ERA in Major League Baseball.

Soon enough, those results will prove all the more positive. As the Mets speed toward Opening Day on March 28, here is how Stearns is feeling about the decisions he will soon face and the state of the team:

Kodai Senga's health

Three weeks after Senga received a platelet-rich plasma injection in his shoulder, Stearns said the Mets' ace is still at least a week away from beginning to throw once again.

"Assuming all goes well after the week to 10 days, we’ll reimage to ensure that the proper healing and progression is taking place, that the inflammation has resolved, and then we'll commence the return to throw program," Stearns said.

Despite an initial prognosis of a three-week absence, Stearns said that the Mets are using their own internal tests and pace to determine when Senga will be able to get back on the field. With an series of tests to come and a six-week build-up, Senga will miss at least the opening month of the season.

Stearns did say that he sees a benefit to working in a six-man rotation at points this season and will evaluate the Mets' best course of action for their rotation once Senga is ready to return.

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"Generally, that extra day of rest is beneficial, not just for Senga but for other pitchers as well," Stearns said. "So we'll find the spots in our schedule where it makes sense to add an extra starter, and I think we do at the depth to be able to do that effectively."

Tylor Megill and Jose Butto are two of the most prominent pieces of the starting pitcher competition. Joey Lucchesi was optioned to the minor leagues on Friday afternoon.

Confidence in Brett Baty and Mark Vientos

Stearns remained steadfast in Brett Baty and Mark Vientos being two of the team's primary options at third base and designated hitter ahead of Opening Day.

He continues to believe that Baty and Vientos should receive a consistent chance to produce after excelling in the minor leagues. The Mets president of baseball operations said it is his job to "thread the needle" between improving the team and giving the organization's young players an opportunity at the big league level.

"I think both have clearly worked on their defense, and we've seen that," Stearns said. I think both have shown signs defensively at third base that they can play that position. That's exciting for me to see. I think that's exciting for our organization.

"And offensively, I think they're working to get their timing down and we see that as well. But these are guys who have hit consistently throughout their careers and I certainly have confidence that can continue."

This spring, Baty is slashing .257/.297/.371 with one home run, three RBI and six runs in 13 games. Vientos has added seven hits, including three home runs, three RBI and six runs to go with a .194/.237/.472 line.

Baty has made one error this spring on 18 chances, although it was a questionable scoring decision with the ball popping out of the catcher's glove, while Vientos has made one error in nine chances.

Figuring out the designated hitter position

One area that the Mets front office continues to assess is the designated hitter, which Stearns said could be filled with one of their regular starters or one of the newcomers early in the season.

"I think that's one of the questions that we're gonna continue to answer here over the last couple of weeks.," Stearns said. "And it could be our rotation through some of our regulars. It could be more geared towards one or two of the bat-first players who are here in camp that we're all talking about, but I don't think we have an answer to that right now."

DJ Stewart, who is one of the internal options, homered for the first time this spring from the leadoff spot on Friday night. The left-handed hitter is 5-for-25 with one run, one RBI, a pair of walks and five strikeouts in nine games.

Vientos lingers as a right-handed threat, along with Luke Voit and Trayce Thompson, who were both non-roster invitees. Ji-man Choi is another left-handed option.

Among those options, Thompson has had the strongest spring with five hits in 18 at-bats, including two home runs, six RBI, two runs and six strikeouts.

Starling Marte could also feature in the lineup as a hitter as a way to keep him on the field.

This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: NY Mets: David Stearns optimistic as 2024 Opening Day nears