New York

Mets

Baty made his second start at first base today. He’s also played right field once. Although he’d never played first base prior to last week, he has a chance to be the Mets’ best defender there, which would help keep him in the lineup after the Bo Bichette signing knocked him off third base. It’s clear he needs to start somewhere against righties after his fine second half last year.

Senga gave up a couple of homers, though one of those was a 341-footer from Miguel Ugueto that wasn’t even a hard-hit ball. He allowed just one other hit, walked none and struck out two. He topped out at 98.9 mph, and his 18 fastballs averaged 96.7 mph, which is two mph better than last year. Obviously, that’s pretty encouraging. The league hit .273 and slugged .530 against Senga’s fastball when he averaged 94.7 mph last year. When he averaged 95.7 mph as an MLB rookie in 2023, the league hit .243 and slugged .397 against the pitch.

The 37-year-old right-hander allowed just one baserunner in the outing — a leadoff walk to Heriberto Hernandez. He rebounded nicely though, retiring the next three hitters in order, including punchouts of Connor Norby and Maximo Acosta. Kimbrel’s velocity was still down in this one, averaging 91.9 mph (-1.6 mph) on his fastball. He’ll probably have to get that back up and string together several good outings if he’s going to crack the Mets’ Opening Day bullpen.

The 34-year-old southpaw walked one and struck out one on the evening. The lone blemish on his night came on a solo shot by Connor Norby in the bottom of the first inning. Unfortunately for Manaea, that did him in as the Mets couldn’t scratch out a single run for him. Manaea got just one swing and miss on 33 pitches in the contest, posting a miserable CSW of only 12 percent. As long as he continues to perform and stay healthy, Manaea should have a spot in the Mets’ rotation — at least to open the season.

He’ll be replaced on the team by Tanner Jacobson. No word yet from the Mets on the severity of the shoulder issue for Stock or how long he’ll be shelved for. The 36-year-old right-hander as in camp as a non-roster invitee hoping to secure a role in the team’s Opening Day bullpen.

Baty lanced a Miles Mikolas fastball opposite field to put the Mets up 3-0 in the first inning. Baty, who just started playing this week after being slowed by a hamstring injury early in camp, started in right field. It’s possible he plays all four corner infield and outfield spots this year for the Mets, adding a little bit of positional flexibility to your fantasy roster. Considering the Mets will likely have him in the middle third of the lineup, he could be in line for plenty of RBI opportunities if he stays productive.

The D.R. seemed to have this one wrapped up, but Oscar De La Cruz and Jimmy Cordero combined to give up three runs to minor leaguers in the ninth, resulting in the tie. Soto has homered against the Tigers on back-to-back days. The Dominican Republic also got two hits from Junior Caminero today. Vladimir Guerrero Jr. reached twice.

Peterson’s fastball velocity today was down about 1.5 mph from last year, but his other pitches were right around his 2025 norms and he was obviously effective. He got nine whiffs on the 20 swings against him, and none of the four balls that Team Israel put into player were hit harder than 90 mph.

Scott would be quite the interesting sleeper pick if there was any chance of him opening up in the Mets rotation. Alas, that’s not a realistic possibility. He’ll also be on an innings limit this year in his first season back from Tommy John surgery, so it’s hard to say how much of a chance he’ll have to contribute. He has a chance to be really good, though.

It’s rather odd seeing Vientos, the one active major leaguer in Nicaragua’s lineup, batting fifth behind Ismael Munguia and Emanuel Trujillo. Still, that all worked out today. Munguia, who hit .246/.313/.342 for the Yankees’ Triple-A affiliate last season, went 3-for-3 with a walk, and Trujillo, who has never played in the U.S., homered to plate both of Nicaragua’s runs.