Mets In The News Today
- Steve Cohen set the tone, loudly. No captain, not now, not ever under his ownership. His reasoning was simple: “Let the locker room sort it out year in, year out.” He also admitted the patience meter is basically at zero, saying the longer this takes, the more it annoys him. Translation: the “good vibes” era is over, this is a “win like a grown-up organization” year.
- The Mets are playing the early-camp health game, on purpose. Francisco Alvarez, Luis Robert Jr., Jorge Polanco, and Brett Baty are expected to sit out early spring games while still taking part in full-squad workouts. Baty’s hamstring is the main headline, plus it slows his ramp into right field reps. The message is clear: they’d rather lose a fake February inning than a real April month.
- Lindor was on the field, but the calendar is still the boss. He’s doing defensive work after hamate surgery, which is encouraging, but Opening Day readiness is still a question mark. The Mets do not need him “back”, they need him right, because a half-swing Lindor is just expensive cardio.
- Pitching ramp-up got real fast. Clay Holmes threw three innings of live BP as he gears up for Team USA in the WBC. Freddy Peralta threw two in the same session. This is the kind of workload hint you actually respect in February, the Mets are trying to build innings without building injuries.
- First game is almost here. The Mets open Grapefruit League play Saturday, February 21 at 1:10 vs. the Marlins, with Brandon Waddell lined up to start. That game is your first look at what this roster actually wants to be: athletic defense, clean outs, fewer freebies.
A Trip Around Major League Baseball
- Labor bomb: Tony Clark resigned as head of the MLBPA with a new CBA fight looming later this year. That is the kind of front-office chaos that turns a normal season into “everybody brace for nonsense.”
- Pitching gut punch: Twins right-hander Pablo López reportedly has a significant UCL tear, with Tommy John surgery on the table. Spring training has barely started and elbows are already filing HR complaints.
- NL West spice: Walker Buehler signed a minor league deal with the Padres and admitted it “feels a little weird.” A Dodgers lifer in brown and gold is the baseball version of seeing your ex in your favorite pizza spot.
- Depth shopping: The Braves added Dominic Smith on a minor league deal for depth. NL East reunions stay undefeated.
- Miami’s plan: The Marlins named Sandy Alcantara their Opening Day starter again, sixth straight, because some things remain consistent even when everything else is duct-taped.
NL East News & Notes
Mets
- Cohen’s comments basically outsourced leadership to the core guys. Lindor, Soto, Semien, plus the rotation leader by performance, not by patch on the jersey.
- The early-injury management list is long, but it’s also deliberate. The front office wants the roster to peak when the games count, not when the sunburns do.
Braves
- Ronald Acuña Jr. is saying he feels “amazing” and looks ready to roll. If that’s true, the division math gets annoying fast.
- Dominic Smith is a depth add, not a headline, but those moves always matter in July when teams start trading for “functional adults.”
Phillies
- Adolis García showed up to camp in “rebound season” mode. Philly doesn’t need cute, they need October damage.
- Camp storylines are the usual: bench competition, health monitoring, and figuring out which young guy is real before the games start counting.
Marlins
- Alcantara anchored as the Opening Day guy, but their rotation has openings behind him. Spring is going to decide a lot of their identity.
- The prospect arms are loud, the big-league stability behind the top names is still being negotiated in real time.
Nationals
- Drew Smith landed in Washington on a minor league deal, which is basically “bullpen tryouts: the musical.”
- Their prospect pipeline is getting real attention, which is great, but that bullpen still has “late-inning chaos” energy until proven otherwise.
Mets History Today
- Bob “Nelson” Miller was born on this date (1939), one of the original 1962 Mets, famous for the 1–12 record and the nickname Casey Stengel used to keep the two Bob Millers straight.
- Shawn Estes has a February 18 birthday too, and yes, Mets fans still remember the day he took Roger Clemens deep at Shea.
- John Valentin shares the date, and his 2002 Mets stint is a reminder that hometown stories are fun until your hamstrings disagree.
- February 18 is one of those “no fireworks, just vibes” Mets history days, more birthdays than blockbusters, which honestly is sometimes a blessing.
Stats You Should Know
- Dates that matter: First spring game is Feb 21 vs. Miami. Opening Day is Thursday, March 26 vs. Pittsburgh at Citi Field.
- The baseline for the lineup: Francisco Lindor hit .267 with 31 HR and 86 RBI last season. The hamate recovery will show up in one place first: how hard he’s willing to turn on the inside pitch without flinching.
- The engine: Juan Soto put up 43 HR, 115 RBI, and 129 walks last season. The Mets don’t need him to “fit in.” They need him to suffocate pitchers with at-bats.
- The first spring starter: Brandon Waddell logged a 3.45 ERA in 11 appearances last season, now he gets the first Grapefruit look. It’s not about wins, it’s about strike throwing and pace.
- Spring truth detector: First-pitch strikes and free passes. If the staff lives in the zone early, the defense-first roster design actually works. If they nibble, it turns into long innings and bullpen drag, the fastest way to waste a talented roster.
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