Very similar to his former Yankees teammate Luis Severino did a yr in the past, Clay Holmes was bearded for his introductory Zoom press convention with members of the Mets media final week. Catcher Luis Torrens let his facial hair develop out a bit after being traded to the Mets final summer season as properly. Even supervisor Carlos Mendoza has sported some since coming from the Bronx to Queens.
Juan Soto, nevertheless, seems to nonetheless be clean-shaven. However then once more, he doesn’t seem to have ever been a giant beard man.
The Mets didn’t got down to develop into the Yankees 2.0, however since David Stearns was employed because the president of baseball operations final October, he has introduced a noticeable variety of former pinstripe gamers and personnel to Flushing.
This winter alone the Mets have signed Holmes and Soto, and employed assistant pitching coach Desi Druschel to work with Jeremy Hefner. It’s not essentially intentional, however Stearns, who grew up a Mets fan, has seen the narrative across the signings.
“Having grown up here, having grown up a Mets fan, I understand how, for our fanbase, that is the case, but for me, I’m just glad we got the player,” Stearns stated earlier this month when the Mets launched Soto. “Didn’t matter from where he was coming from, I’m just glad we got the player.”
The baseball operations staffers aren’t constructing a staff with the Yankees in thoughts. What the Yankees are doing isn’t of nice concern. The Mets are more likely to concentrate to the groups in their very own division. The offseason strikes the Philadelphia Phillies and Atlanta Braves make are rather more necessary. The identical may even be stated concerning the Los Angeles Dodgers since that’s the staff to beat within the NL.
Nonetheless, having acquainted faces round does make it simpler for the previous Yankees like Holmes. It’s not the tipping level, but it surely’s engaging to have two groups in the identical metropolis that each boast contender credentials.
“There are some people there that kind of gone before, there’s a little group there. But I mean, personally, I don’t see it so much as a rival or like you’re switching sides,” Holmes stated. “I don’t really view it as too much of like a competition thing. Obviously, I’ve seen in New York, up close and personal, I love the city, I’ve seen the best fans from right across the city. I’ve seen the energy and passion and how much they care, and what they bring to the fanbase. That’s something that, you know, I want to be a part of…
“Being able to stay in New York City and join the Mets, and [seeing] what’s being built there to hopefully keep this momentum going is [what] that drew me there.”
Holmes isn’t naive to the truth that he’ll possible obtain some boos when the Mets go to Yankee Stadium subsequent summer season. It’s nothing he hasn’t already skilled. It’s Soto who must be ready for the barrage after declaring New York a “Mets town” throughout his introductory press convention.
“It’s been a Mets town for a long time,” Soto stated. “So I think we’ve just got to bring it to the top. Definitely, a championship is going to tell you if it’s a Yankees or Mets town.”
This is the reason Soto requested proprietor Steve Cohen what number of World Sequence championships he desires to win over the following decade. Cohen stated two to 4.
“My view is, it’s such a big city, right? There’s plenty of room for both of us,” Cohen stated. “So, you know, I like the fans, but you want to win championships — plural, championships. They’re one of the teams in the way. That’s always the case, there’s always somebody in the way, but they’re annually in the way. OK, well, guess what? They’re in the American League. I have to face them for the World Series. OK? I mean, well, I got the Dodgers right, and the Dodgers are equally formidable.”
Final yr, the Subway Sequence introduced us Grimace Palooza. Who is aware of what it should usher in 2025, however in the end, it’s an intriguing storyline that can add gas to the rivalry’s fireplace.
Initially Revealed: December 25, 2024 at 8:30 AM EST
