The moment that Juan Soto placed a New York Mets cap upon his head, the expectations for the team were instantly raised.
During spring training in Port St. Lucie, there was no grace period. Soto hit the ground running with his new team, homering in his first Grapefruit League at-bat and maintaining that offensive success throughout.
A tough division like the National League East, which includes the Braves, Phillies and up-and-coming Nationals, might curb some expectations, but Soto has raised the bar.
"You always gotta be expecting to be at the top," Soto said on the final day of spring training. "It doesn't matter who's in the division, we expect to be at the top all the time."
As the Mets make that push for their first division crown in a decade, here is the team's projected lineup and three final thoughts from spring training:
Mets' projected of Opening Day lineup
- Francisco Lindor SS
- Juan Soto RF
- Pete Alonso 1B
- Mark Vientos 3B
- Brandon Nimmo LF
- Starling Marte DH
- Luis Torrens C
- Brett Baty 2B
- Jose Siri CF
Outlook: After his rapid rise after the second month of last season, Francisco Lindor will occupy the leadoff position at the beginning of 2025 where he will be protected by one of the most dangerous hitters in baseball in Juan Soto. Pete Alonso, who begins his quest to set the Mets home run record, occupied the No. 3 spot for most of spring.
The cleanup spot will change depending on matchups to start, with Nimmo and Vientos set to share that spot. While platoons exist at designated hitter between Marte and Jesse Winker and center field between Siri and Tyrone Taylor.
The Mets lost some of their balance at the bottom of the lineup following injuries to Jeff McNeil and Francisco Alvarez with around three weeks until Opening Day.
Carlos Mendoza continues to be mum on the battles for the final three positional spots at second base, backup infield and catcher, but those roles appear to be locked in by Baty, Luisangel Acuña and Hayden Senger to begin the season.
Can Juan Soto help the Mets take a step forward
If Soto had posted the same numbers last season as a member of the Mets, he would have led them in nearly every offensive category including batting average (.282), home runs (41), runs (128) and RBIs (109).
That's a major boost to a unit that loses role players in J.D. Martinez, Harrison Bader and Jose Iglesias, and finished seventh in runs and eighth in OPS in Major League Baseball.
"We're in a really good spot. I think we have a really talented group," Soto said. "We have a lot of guys, we have a lot of outfielders, a lot of infielders, so I think we are really loaded as a team. I can't wait to see these guys going out there."
Soto has been an All-Star in four straight seasons and received the Silver Slugger award in the last five, but can that boost help the Mets get back to the highest level in baseball.
Working through injuries
When the Mets exited spring camp last season, there was only major injury that they did not foresee before heading down south. Kodai Senga's shoulder capsule strain kept him out until July.
This year, the hurdles have come in waves. Frankie Montas suffered a high-grade lat strain after his first bullpen session which will keep him from beginning a spring training progression until next month. The blows continued in late February when Sean Manaea suffered an oblique strain.
With two open rotation spots, Tylor Megill and Griffin Canning shored up starting roles while Paul Blackburn was relegated to a bullpen role. Canning may have provided the biggest sense of optimism about the replacements this spring as he pitched to a 1.88 ERA and struck out 22 in 14⅓ innings.
In the lineup, the Mets must make up for the absences of Francisco Alvarez (broken left hand) and Jeff McNeil (low-grade oblique strain). Torrens was the natural choice at catcher, while Baty proved he could handle a shift to the other side of the diamond.
Spring stars: David Peterson, Brett Baty
In the beginning of camp, a glut of outfield options meant that there was only one backup infield spot and that player would need to be comfortable at three separate positions. Those responsibilities could be spread out after McNeil's injury.
Baty produced one of the best Grapefruit League seasons across Florida as he slashed .353/.441/.745 with four home runs, 11 RBI, 14 runs and six doubles. He'll head back to the major leagues with plenty of confidence as he looks to prove he can stay at that level after posting a .633 OPS in 50 games last season.
David Peterson's spot in the rotation was locked up for the first time in his career entering spring training, and he provided a little extra confidence that he could take another step forward in 2025.
The Mets' lone lefty starter until Manaea's return was 2-1 with a 0.57 ERA and 12 strikeouts in 15⅔ innings in four appearances this spring.
This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: NY Mets: Projected Opening Day lineup, final spring thoughts
