Mets Daily Febuary 9, 2026

Mets Daily Monday, February 9, 2026

MJ Melendez is in. The Mets agreed to a one-year, $1.5M deal (plus incentives) with the lefty bat who can bounce between the outfield and catcher in a pinch. Low-risk depth move with real upside if the Triple-A version shows up.
Spring Training is basically here. Pitchers and catchers report Wednesday (Feb. 11), full squad is Feb. 16, Grapefruit opener is Feb. 21 vs. the Marlins, and Opening Day is March 26 vs. the Pirates (1:15 p.m. ET).
Left field is Carson Benge’s lane… if he takes it. The Mets left the door open on purpose. Benge gets a real shot, with Tyrone Taylor, Brett Baty (learning LF), and Jared Young sitting there like bouncers at the club entrance.
Bullpen musical chairs starts now. Four locks are in place (Devin Williams, Luke Weaver, Brooks Raley, Luis García). The rest is a fight, with Craig Kimbrel’s comeback attempt sitting in the middle of it.
Christian Scott’s comeback clock is ticking. He’s facing hitters again and expects to pitch in games in about two weeks as he works back from a UCL sprain.

Red Sox just made a real move. Boston is acquiring 3B Caleb Durbin from Milwaukee in a multi-player deal.
Pirates bought a bat. Pittsburgh is landing Marcell Ozuna on a one-year deal that’s effectively a $12M guarantee structure.
Prospects are about to take over back fields everywhere. MLB Pipeline’s Top 100 camp list is out, and the Mets already have Nolan McLean and Jonah Tong heading into big league camp, with more invites expected soon.

Braves

Pitchers and catchers open camp Tuesday, full squad hits Feb. 15. Atlanta added Robert Suarez, Mauricio Dubón, Jorge Mateo, and Mike Yastrzemski.
Ha-Seong Kim is expected out until at least mid-May, so Dubón’s glove is going to earn frequent flyer miles.

Phillies

Pitchers and catchers report Feb. 11, full squad Feb. 16. Adolis García is expected to step right into the starting RF job.
Top prospect trio (Aidan Miller, Andrew Painter, Justin Crawford) will all be in camp. Philadelphia is not hiding the “win now” energy.

Marlins

Miami’s rotation picture has extra chaos after dealing away Edward Cabrera and Ryan Weathers. Sandy Alcantara and Eury Pérez headline the “locks.”
The rest of that staff is basically an audition tape with sunscreen.

Nationals

Catcher is a real battle: Keibert Ruiz is coming off concussion issues and will have to prove he’s fully good, Harry Ford is pushing immediately.
Matt Mervis is in on a Minor League deal with a camp invite, first base reps are going to be a crowd scene.

Mookie Wilson birthday vibes. Fan favorite, elite speed, and the forever clip from Game 6 in 1986 lives rent-free in baseball history.
Wilson’s baserunning was not a suggestion, it was a problem opponents had to solve.
Todd Pratt birthday. His 1999 NLDS walk-off still feels like Shea Stadium shaking in your ribs.
Doug Linton birthday. Quiet little Mets bullpen trivia, he went 6-2 in 1994 and somehow led the pen in winning percentage.
Vidal Bruján turns 28 today. The Mets picked him up from the Twins for cash, pure utility chess piece.

Melendez profile: career 88 wRC+ across 1,652 PA, struggled in the majors last year, then put up .261/.323/.490 with 20 HR and 20 SB in Triple-A.
Budget reality: the $1.5M deal carries a luxury-tax bite that pushes the effective cost higher.
Benge reality check: he has just 24 games above Double-A, so this camp is the test, not the coronation.
Taylor’s 2025 bat: .598 OPS, glove keeps him employed, bat keeps the fanbase complaining.
Scott’s MLB baseline: 4.56 ERA, 1.20 WHIP, 39 K in 47.1 IP, with game action targeted roughly two weeks out.