New York Mets DVOA, Stats, & MLB Rankings

New York Mets third baseman Brett Baty has been taking ground balls in camp at shortstop, according to manager Carlos Mendoza. The skipper isn't ruling out Baty playing the position in exhibition games later in camp. "He's got the arm. It comes down to, can he get to the ball? Range and all that," Mendoza said. Baty's primary focus in spring training will be at third base and second base, though. The 25-year-old is slated to open the season as a utility infielder for the Mets, which makes sense that he's looking to increase his versatility around the infield to make himself more valuable in that role. He hasn't played anywhere besides third base in the big leagues, but he has played a little second and left field in the minors. Once one of the Mets' top prospects, Baty lost out on the third base gig in 2024 to Mark Vientos, and the re-signing of Pete Alonso didn't help Baty's cause this year.

New York Mets first baseman Pete Alonso (face) is ok after being hit by a ball in the face. Alonso was hit in the face during an infield drill on Thursday morning but was able to return to action later in the afternoon. Fantasy managers should continue to monitor his status in case he faces a setback. After being a free agent for the majority of the offseason, Alonso eventually resigned with the New York Mets. Earlier in February, Alonso signed a two-year $54 million contract. This deal includes an opt-out after the first season. Last season, the 30-year-old held a career-low .240/.329/.459 line with just 34 home runs and 88 RBI. During the 2022 and 2023 seasons, Alonso went deep at least 40 times and tallied at least 115 RBI in each campaign. Fantasy managers should expect Alonso to bat behind Francisco Lindor and Juan Soto in the everyday lineup, which should provide him with elite RBI opportunities that will set him up well for a bounce-back season.

According to Pat Ragazzo of Sports Illustrated, left-handed pitcher Jose Quintana and the New York Mets have been talking and shown mutual interest in a reunion. Earlier this week, right-handed pitcher Franke Montas (lat) was shut down from throwing. Montas is not expected to begin throwing in at least four weeks. As a result, Quintana could be a potential target for the Mets to provide some depth in their rotation. The southpaw has spent the past two seasons with the Mets. Last summer, Quintana posted a 3.75 ERA and a 1.25 WHIP across 170 1/3 innings of work. He tallied just 135 strikeouts but was able to generate ground balls at a strong 48.2 percent rate. If Quintana were to return to Queens, he would compete for a spot in the back of the rotation alongside Tylor Megill and Griffin Canning.

New York Mets right-hander Paul Blackburn (back) threw to hitters for one inning in a live batting practice session at camp on Tuesday. "I feel like I'm in a good spot right now," Blackburn said. "Just excited to be here, just trying to go day by day, not try to do too much and just slowly progress into the start." The 31-year-old veteran's 2024 season ended early due to a spinal fluid leak that required surgery on Oct. 11, but he's back to throwing now and is working with pitching coach Jeremy Hefner to refine his sinker and sweeper in order to add more run to his sinker and more horizontal movement to his sweeper. Blackburn is competing for a rotation spot with Tylor Megill and Griffin Canning after being limited to 14 starts in 2024 due to injury. Because he's a bit behind in camp, both Megill and Canning figure to be ahead of Blackburn in the rotation competition.

New York Mets manager Carlos Mendoza is leaning towards putting shortstop Francisco Lindor at the top of the batting order and recently acquired outfielder Juan Soto in the two-hole. Lindor spent most of the 2025 campaign batting in the top spot and performed very well. When batting first, Lindor posted a stellar .303/.374/.552 line with 26 home runs and 31 doubles. He held a 42:97 BB:K ratio. He generated a .379 xwOBA, placing him in the 95th percentile among qualified hitters. Juan Soto spent his entire 2024 season batting in the two-hole with the Yankees. He posted a .288/.419/.569 line with a career-best 41 home runs. He showed an elite eye at the plate with an 18.1 percent walk rate. As a result, fantasy managers should expect Pete Alonso, Mark Vientos, and Brandon Nimmo to bat behind them, providing them with elite RBI opportunities.