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HOUSTON — There’s no way for the Mets to truly replicate what they did a year ago, when they exceeded nearly all expectations under first-year manager Carlos Mendoza.
From coming back after starting the season 0-5, to the OMG craze, to a late-season push to the postseason that resulted in a run to the NLCS, 2024 was a feel-good story in Queens, punctuated by grabbing Juan Soto away from the Yankees in free agency.
And now the real work is about to begin.
The team is set to work out at Daikin (RIP Minute Maid and Enron) Park on Wednesday in advance of Thursday’s season opener.
That’s when Clay Holmes takes the mound for his first start since 2018 — and just the fifth of his major league career.
Holmes — and the rest of the rotation — is among the question marks for the Mets heading into the season, one in which they’ll be dealing with a playoff-or-bust mentality.
Here’s a look at some of the keys to the early part of the season:
Starting out
The Mets took a chance on Holmes, a reliable reliever for much of his career with the Yankees, but who lost the closer’s job last season.
After signing as a free agent, the right-hander impressed this spring, enough so that he got the call for Opening Day.
Of course, part of the decision to go with Holmes is that the rotation is without other free-agent starters Sean Manaea (recovering from an oblique injury) and Frankie Montas (lat strain).
“We wanted to see how pitching was going to shake out and getting going, pitching is always tough to stay healthy,’’ Brandon Nimmo said. “We’ve had a couple of guys go down, but feel like Clay Holmes has been a real nice surprise for us and he’s built up and he is going to be starting Opening Day.”
President of baseball operations David Stearns had similar thoughts.
“I think some of the adjustments we have seen with Clay, adjusting really well to the longer stints bode well going forward,’’ Stearns said.
Other question marks in the rotation have also been solid, including right-hander Griffin Canning.
“I have been impressed with how Griffin Canning has taken to our organization a little bit,’’ Stearns said. “David Peterson and Tylor Megill getting through this [spring] healthy and … looking really good has been positive.”
Second coming
One of the bigger disappointments of last season was the performance of Brett Baty, who lost the starting job at third base to Mark Vientos and spent much of the rest of the season at Triple-A Syracuse.
Baty entered the spring looking to win a job, but his potential role grew more important when Jeff McNeil went down with an oblique injury, opening up a spot at second base.
Baty has responded both with his glove and his bat, reminding people why he was a highly regarded prospect before last year’s struggles.
“One of the things we wanted to see was how Baty was going to be coming through the spring and he’s answered that emphatically,’’ Nimmo said. “It’s been a great spring for him, so I am happy for that.”
Stearns agreed.
“[Baty] played well and that is what we’ll take from this: He’s in a really good spot [and] he played well on both sides of the ball,’’ Stearns said. “I think Brett is in a good frame of mind and ready to go and compete. He’s a talented guy, so I think if we keep him in a spot where he can just focus on the moment at hand, he’s going to be in good shape.”
Dealing with success
This season, the Mets won’t be able to sneak up on anyone. They’ll try to avoid a similar rough start to the season that nearly derailed them in ’24.
“I think the biggest thing coming into a new year, a new season, is how guys are going to fit into that locker room,” Mendoza said. “New guys, new faces, some of the guys that we brought back. I think it’s just, ‘How long is that going to take?’ How is that going to go early in camp? And I think right away, I could tell the new faces were fitting in. That’s a credit to the group in there — the guys that were here last year — and they have been here quite a bit now, making sure that they feel welcome here and that is what they have done from Day 1.”
“There was definitely an unknown coming into camp of, ‘Hey, this is a new team, even though we have similar people,’ ’’ Nimmo said. “People are a year wiser, a year older, all that stuff. OK, what are we going to get out of it? I have been happily surprised with how this team is shaping up come Opening Day, but ultimately the season will tell us.”
— Additional reporting by Mike Puma in Port St. Lucie
