What Questions Remain for the New York Mets?

The MLB season is now quickly approaching. The Mets have been conducting official workouts at Citi Field as part of Summer Camp. None the less, there are still plenty of questions regarding the Mets that cannot be answered until the season starts.

What can we expect from Yoenis Cespedes?

Cespedes was brought over to the Mets in a trade with the Detroit Tigers. Ever since he has been a Met, two things have been true: the man can hit a baseball extremely far, and he has trouble staying healthy. His health is going to be a major question this season. He is coming off double heel surgery and a fractured ankle. The ankle story is typical Mets. Cespedes was at his ranch in Florida while rehabbing and stepped in a hole as a wild boar charged him. Just let that sink in for a second…

When fully healthy, Cespedes can contribute heavily with the bat. Look for him to act as the primary DH for the Mets this season. The Mets benefit greatly from the universal DH, so hopefully that will be here to stay.

In terms of playing the field, we may see him get some time in the outfield. He still has a canon of an arm and can easily cut down runners on the base path. He has also been taking some groundballs and first base. This seems odd as Pete Alonso and Dom Smith are both on the 1B depth chart.

Mets news: Yoenis Cespedes is working out at first base.

Here is some crappy video (that nonetheless is proof). He also was at first during the pitchers’ pickoff drill. pic.twitter.com/kKfLzlKKu8

— Tim Healey (@timbhealey) July 8, 2020

Look for Cespedes to contribute with the bat. His last at-bat was a home-run at Yankee Stadium so hopefully he can pick up where he left off.

Is Jed Lowrie Alive?

Jed Lowrie has been an enigma ever since he joined the Mets. He was signed as a free agent last offseason and has only 7 at bats in his Mets career. He has been nursing a left-leg injury ever since Spring Training 2019. The weird thing is, no one knows what the injury is. When asked about this week he had the following comment:

Jed Lowrie said he doesn't want to reveal the exact diagnosis of his injury because "I don't want to create any distractions."

— Anthony DiComo (@AnthonyDiComo) July 5, 2020

When asked if not revealing the injury would create more of a distraction he said:

Asked if not revealing anything about his injury might create MORE of a distraction, Lowrie responded:

"Listen, that's something that I'll leave up to the Twitterverse. All I can say is I am doing, as a professional, I'm doing everything I can to get on the field."

— Anthony DiComo (@AnthonyDiComo) July 5, 2020

So basically, nobody knows what is going on with him. He has been a dud of a signing that luckily is off the books after this season. Say what you want about Cano and Diaz, but Lowrie is Brodie’s biggest fail as GM so far. The short answer to the header question is yes he is alive, but do not look for him to contribute at all.

How does the Bullpen Look?

Speaking of Edwin Diaz, what can we expect from the Mets bullpen this season? The team finished with 86 wins last season. if they converted only 50% of their blown saves, they would have won 99. The bullpen can only get better right? Jeurys Familia seems to be in better shape this season, and Diaz has good enough stuff that he can bounce back on his own. With the addition of Dellin Betances, the bullpen should be much better than last season. Seth Lugo was their best relief pitcher by far last season. Look for him to continue his dominance with one of the highest spin rates on a curveball in the bigs.

Final Thoughts

There are still some other questions that we will have to wait and see about. The starting rotation, which is usually a major strength, took two big hits when Zack Wheeler left as a free agent and Noah Syndergaard got Tommy John Surgery. In a 60 game season, certainly anything can happen. The NL East should be a very competitive division as all games are within the division and the AL East. There is going to be some very competitive baseball to be played and the Mets are going to need everyone to contribute if they want to make the postseason.

-Pete Chatterton (@Pchat12)