New York Mets: Some Concerns As Spring Training Comes To a Close

The 2017 season for the New York Mets begins this Monday when they open the season against the Atlanta Braves. As Spring Traning comes to a close, the Mets have a few issues they are dealing with. The three bigger ones that they are dealing with is the uncertainty of David Wright and Steven Matz and the suspension of Familia.

[Jon]

It was announced today that Familia will be suspended for the first fifteen games of the season. That shouldn’t be an issue for the Mets, as Addison Reed will be the closer for the first fifteen games. Since Reed has been with Mets, he has been one of their better relief pitchers with an era below two each season. As far as Familia getting suspended, I think they could have gone a bit heavier on him but there was obvious evidence that ended up lowering it.

The bigger concerns I see for the Mets is Steven Matz. A while back, I did a piece on what I thought the Mets pitching staff would look like and I put Matz as the third starter right in front of Harvey and Gsellman. However, depending on how long Matz is out for I could see Seth Lugo getting the fifth spot and Gsellman getting the fourth and Harvey with the third spot. I don’t like Harvey in the 3^rd spot, but with Matz not being ready right out of camp, the Mets may not have an option.

The other concern I see for the Mets is David Wright. A few weeks ago, he was shut down after his shoulder started to get screwy on him. I personally see Wilmer Flores and Jose Reyes splitting the time up for most of the time at third base. Unfortunately, I don’t see Wright getting many plate appearances this season. However, I would not be surprised if he ends up retiring either during this season or in the offseason due to his injuries. Since his injuries started becoming more of a problem, he hasn’t been the same player since.