Thanks to Their Versatility, the Mets Are Feeling Good

PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. — It is one in every of baseball’s enduring little mysteries, how a recreation so wealthy in potentialities additionally gives so many precedents. You might even see one thing new on the ballpark on daily basis, but for those who stick round some time, you are feeling such as you’ve seen all of it earlier than.

So it was in mid-March, when the Mets misplaced Edwin Díaz, the sport’s premier nearer, to a torn patellar tendon in his proper knee simply two weeks earlier than opening day. The circumstances of the harm had been novel — bouncing on the grass along with his Puerto Rico teammates after a victory within the World Baseball Classic — however the fundamentals had been acquainted to General Manager Billy Eppler.

“I remember when we lost Mo,” mentioned Eppler, a former Yankees assistant, recalling a season-ending knee harm to the Hall of Fame nearer Mariano Rivera in May 2012. “I remember exactly where I was sitting when I got the news: the Atlanta airport. I think I was seeing an amateur for the draft, and I was flying back. Twitter informed me, because everybody saw it at the same time.”

Rivera’s knee harm, which got here whereas chasing a fly ball in batting follow in Kansas City, Mo., didn’t cease the Yankees. Another veteran right-hander, Rafael Soriano, stuffed in ably for Rivera, and the crew was proficient sufficient to nonetheless win essentially the most video games within the American League.

Now contemplate these Mets, who begin their season in Miami on Thursday towards the Marlins. The Díaz harm was by far essentially the most notable second of spring coaching, but for all of the psychic ache of it — so sudden, devastating and public — the Mets ought to nonetheless be a postseason lock. They usually are not a lot completely different than the 101-win model from 2022.

“I think in pretty much every single category, we were inside the top five, whether it was pitching or offense,” Eppler mentioned. “And that lends itself to: hey, if you’re in a game and you need to score a lot of runs, that can happen. Or if you’re in a starting pitching duel, we can win that game. We can win games in a number of different ways.”

Among National League groups final season, Mets pitchers had essentially the most strikeouts, the second-fewest walks and the third-best E.R.A. The crew’s hitters had the very best batting common, ranked second in on-base proportion, tied for third in runs and had been fifth in slugging proportion.

Mets Manager Buck Showalter appears prone to determine his nearer based mostly on matchups, because the Philadelphia Phillies did, principally with success, within the postseason final fall. The veteran right-hander David Robertson, who saved Game 1 of the World Series for the Phillies, signed a one-year cope with the Mets, who additionally introduced again Adam Ottavino and traded for the left-hander Brooks Raley.

“We have the ability to create the right matchups regardless of what inning it is,” Showalter mentioned.

If they don’t, Eppler can all the time make a midseason commerce. Relievers are rather more helpful to contenders than they’re to also-rans, who all the time are inclined to have a few first rate ones out there. (Imagine Alexis Díaz — Edwin’s brother and an overwhelming right-handed reliever for the lowly Cincinnati Reds — jogging in from the Citi Field bullpen, trumpets blaring, in late summer time.)

The Mets have a couple of new complementary place gamers, however the offense is so nicely intact that in Saturday’s exhibition Showalter used the identical lineup he did within the remaining playoff loss to the San Diego Padres final October.

The rotation seems to be completely different with out Jacob deGrom, Chris Bassitt and Taijuan Walker, however with Justin Verlander, Kodai Senga and David Peterson — the winner of a spot vacated by José Quintana, who had surgical procedure to restore a stress fracture in his rib — the outcomes must be roughly the identical.

“He’s got a very talented hand,” Showalter mentioned of Verlander, a right-hander. “He changes the shape of his pitches a lot. He’s in tune with the advanced part of it. It’s like he’s his own pitching coach, and I’ve got to tell you, he doesn’t suffer good execution by him — he’s chasing perfection.”

On Sunday, going through a threadbare Marlins split-squad lineup, Verlander labored by 95 pitches throughout 5 innings, permitting three runs, eight hits and 4 walks. He was struck twice by batted balls, although neither time on his pitching arm.

“I don’t particularly like the way I’m pitching right now, so I have to figure it out,” Verlander mentioned. “Mechanics-wise I was kind of all over the place today. Control wasn’t great.”

Verlander, 40, is making $43.3 million — similar because the Mets’ Max Scherzer — as a part of Steven A. Cohen’s file $370 million pretax payroll. He was extra matter-of-fact than glum about his remaining spring tuneup. The lively chief in wins and strikeouts, Verlander has a eager sense of put together for a season that stretches by the World Series.

With Houston final 12 months, Verlander received his third A.L. Cy Young Award and completed with a long-awaited World Series victory. It was his first season after a protracted comeback from Tommy John surgical procedure by which he concentrated not simply on his elbow however on his whole physique, for higher mobility and endurance.

“I’ve always been fairly strong going into the latter half; I think it’s just knowing yourself, knowing your routine and focusing on recovery,” Verlander mentioned Sunday. “Of course I stuck with it, I hope with the same results. Every year you learn something new, so I’m just trying to pick up where I left off.”

Showalter slotted Verlander third within the rotation, after Scherzer and the left-handed Peterson, to place a distinct look between two Hall of Fame-bound right-handers and to line up Verlander for the house opener at Citi Field on April 6. He mentioned he was desirous to pitch for the house crew in Flushing — “I know these fans are passionate and so am I,” he added — after a profession in Detroit and Houston.

“It’s something that’s exciting to look forward to, but I don’t think it was ever a goal, per se, to pitch in New York,” Verlander mentioned. “But I think you play long enough and a lot of guys find their way here. So here I am.”

Roger Clemens, Tom Glavine, Pedro Martinez, Randy Johnson and Scherzer all introduced a number of Cy Young Awards to New York. All of them helped lead the Mets or the Yankees to the postseason, and Verlander ought to have the identical expertise.

The Mets, and their followers, could be sensible to hearken to the phrases Díaz informed shortstop Francisco Lindor, his teammate with Puerto Rico, within the moments after the harm.

“He was like, ‘Keep on going, it’s all right, it’ll be fine, everything will be OK,’” Lindor mentioned. “That’s just who he is. He’s a very optimistic person.”

And the Mets must be a really optimistic crew.