HOUSTON — Essentially the most anticipated Mets season in a decade begins within the place the place all of it started for David Stearns, and the place all of it started for Clay Holmes and Juan Soto final season — Houston. Rather a lot certain can change in a 12 months.
“You can feel the excitement for the Mets,” Holmes stated Wednesday at Daikin Park. “I mean, there are definitely expectations. Sure everybody knows, the payroll and the players we have here, the talent we have here, and there’ll be things that come with that.”
A 12 months in the past, the Mets didn’t face any extraordinary expectations. Coming off of a dropping season with a brand new supervisor and a brand new president of baseball operations, little was anticipated aside from progressing towards higher days. However these higher days are right here, perhaps a 12 months or two forward of schedule.
Soto, one of many sport’s finest hitters, left the Yankees for the Mets, one thing that traditionally by no means occurs for gamers of his caliber, becoming a member of a core group of gamers that took the Los Angeles Dodgers to 6 video games within the NLCS final season. He joins a battle-tested group that pulled themselves out of the NL gutter final 12 months.
The Mets know the right way to get by means of exhausting instances, and so they belief that Stearns and supervisor Carlos Mendoza can information them all through.
“For me personally, there’s just more familiarity with the group and with the organization, and that’s been true throughout spring training and heading into the opener,” Stearns stated. “From an expectation standpoint, I know that’s a big discussion, and will continue to be, but we had pretty high internal expectations last year, and so I don’t know that from an expectation standpoint it necessarily feels all that different.”
Nevertheless, even Stearns can’t deny the Soto impact. The highlight is firmly on Queens, moderately than the Bronx, because the season begins. The Mets had been on the duvet of Sports activities Illustrated’s baseball preview situation and ticket gross sales are up from this time final 12 months.
“We know there’s more attention, so maybe from an attention standpoint, it’s a little bit different,” Stearns stated. “But we expected a lot of ourselves last year, we expect a lot of ourselves this year.”
The energy of the 2025 Mets is the lineup, with Soto set to hit second behind Francisco Lindor. The 26-year-old Soto made it clear to the Mets that he needed safety within the order, and that safety comes within the type of Pete Alonso. Whereas the Mets maintained all alongside that they needed to carry again the Polar Bear, Soto helped them alongside.
Third baseman Mark Vientos broke out in an enormous manner final 12 months, and the unfailingly assured third baseman is able to present everybody that he could be a 30-homer participant.
However on condition that it’s the Mets, it’s by no means as simple because it appears. They’re limping to Opening Day lacking three members of their beginning rotation in Sean Manaea, Frankie Montas and Paul Blackburn, plus their beginning second baseman and beginning catcher.
Francisco Alvarez’s hamate surgical procedure did make manner for the feel-good story of the spring, with 27-year-old Hayden Senger getting his first name to the massive leagues to take his place on the roster. Senger has lengthy been thought of among the finest defensive catchers within the group, however his lack of offense restricted him. A Twenty fourth-round draft select of Miami (Ohio) in 2018, Senger spends his offseasons working at Entire Meals whereas his spouse, Ryann, helps the household throughout baseball season as a doctor’s assistant in Nashville.
“She has worked for a lot of years to support me through this,” Senger stated. “It kind of made it all, all worth it.”
The Mets knowledgeable Senger he can be on the Opening Day roster earlier than departing Port St. Lucie. Mendoza had catching coordinators Bob Natal and Glenn Sherlock in his workplace when he known as in Senger, who was so overwhelmed he may barely get any phrases out. Senger instantly known as his spouse, who was in between sufferers, to work out the main points of touring to Houston. His dad and mom shall be on the town, in addition to a few of his faculty associates, no phrase on his grocery retailer boss.
“He’s probably already heard,” Senger stated. “I’m sure he has, but I’ve got to get on the horn with him and see what he has to say.”
Holmes was chosen because the starter for Thursday, solely a 12 months after he closed a sport for the Yankees in Houston. In that season-opening four-game collection, Soto was a monster on the plate, going 9-for-17 with a double, a house run, 4 RBI and three walks. He additionally made an enormous defensive play to bail out Holmes.
Now they’re right here once more underneath far totally different circumstances, however with the identical aim in thoughts: to carry a World Sequence title to New York Metropolis.
“There’s a lot of accountability and expectation in the locker room too, and I think that’s what makes this group great,” Holmes stated. “We’re able to have fun, but there’s a standard that’s been set here. It’s fun to be a part of that and ultimately, to go into the season knowing that you have a real shot to win the championship..
“It’s what you want to play for.”
