The Mets could not bottle the Florida weather and bring it north, hoods and long sleeves all over the field on a chilly, overcast Wednesday afternoon.
But Carlos Mendoza’s group did pack the same optimism that permeated the clubhouse in Port St. Lucie.
A team that enters this season with a much less starry roster than the past few years and correspondingly low expectations is aware of those expectations — and believes it can surpass them.
“Our expectation is to win. We’re here to win,” Mendoza said after a workout at Citi Field ahead of an Opening Day matchup against the Brewers that will be Friday because of rain in Thursday’s forecast. “I’ve been saying it all along: Outside projections and things like that might say differently, but we do believe that we have a really good team. I don’t buy the fact that expectations are low for the New York Mets in 2024. Regardless of what happened here last year, this is a very talented team. We’re here to win.”
Mendoza was across town with the Yankees when the 2023 Mets, a team that expected to be a World Series contender with Max Scherzer and Justin Verlander, disappointed across four months before holding a sell-off at the trade deadline.
Both aces dealt with injury, and the rotation replacements proved to be a weakness.
A lineup that projected to be a strength was middling, with downturns notably from Starling Marte and Jeff McNeil.
The bullpen might have been the club’s worst unit, the loss of Edwin Diaz looming over the entire season.
“This is completely different this year,” said Opening Day starter Jose Quintana, who did not debut last season until mid-July because of a stress fracture in his rib. “We have a lot of talent in here. This is the perfect time to start to show them.”
Quintana is healthy, but this year’s ace again will be absent for at least the first six weeks or so of the season.
Kodai Senga will be sidelined with a shoulder strain, though he has resumed throwing and can begin lengthening out his arm.
Tylor Megill will fill the rotation spot, and Quintana (and perhaps Luis Severino) will need to perform like an ace.
David Stearns’ first offseason as Mets president was designed to improve the team’s defense, and maybe the presence of Harrison Bader, who has pushed Brandon Nimmo to left field, will save enough runs to matter.
But with the club’s rotation a question even before Senga’s injury, the Mets’ clearest path to the postseason might be several bounce-backs offensively.
McNeil, the 2022 batting champ, saw his average plunge by 56 points last year.
Pete Alonso hit .217. Marte was a mess offensively and defensively after offseason groin surgery.
Mendoza, looking with fresh eyes at the group in his first year as manager, believes the offense can again be a strength.
“When you look at our lineup, top to bottom, we got not only versatility but guys who can do damage,” Mendoza said of a group that eventually will include J.D. Martinez at DH. “We can beat you a lot of different ways. Whether it’s running the bases, putting the ball in play, hitting the ball in the seats.”
The Mets will begin this season with less external belief and more Diaz.
Perhaps the best closer in the game is fully recovered from the patellar tendon tear suffered during the World Baseball Classic and provides an anchor that the Mets desperately missed last season.
Diaz is happy to be back and also thinks the team can surprise.
“I like everything [about this team],” Diaz said. “I like the energy in the clubhouse. I like everything. I think we got a really good team. … I think we got a chance to make the playoffs.”
The postseason was mentioned, but no one publicly cited the World Series as the goal, which is a departure from this time last season.
Francisco Lindor acknowledged there are “not as many big names” and “not as many players making that much money” this year. His own expectations?
“Win. Win,” Lindor repeated. “I expect that.”
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