\u201cHe\u2019s more mature,\u201d manager Carlos Mendoza said. \u201cHe learned a lot. He got humbled a little bit last year\u2026He [had to]\u00a0go to the minor leagues and make some drastic changes \u2013 whether it was defensively, offensively and to his credit, he had to work and he earned it back. He was a different player when he came back up and that\u2019s what we\u2019re seeing.”<\/p>\n
2. Kodai Senga<\/p>\n
It\u2019s easy to forget exactly how dominant Senga was in 2023. He was an All Star, came in second for rookie of the year, and seventh in Cy Young voting. And then everything fell apart. Shoulder and calf injuries hampered his 2024, and the second half of 2025 was nothing short of a disaster. He was cruising to a 1.39 ERA before sustaining a Grade 1 hamstring strain in June and was never the same again \u2013 compiling a 5.90 ERA the rest of the way before accepting a demotion to Triple-A.<\/p>\n
But there were two very intriguing things to come out of Senga\u2019s spring training debut last week<\/a>: 1. His fastball velocity was way up, and he topped out at 98.8 mph (in 2023, his four-seamer averaged 95.7). And, 2. He didn\u2019t even feel all that comfortable in the first half of 2025, when he appeared to be mowing down batters with ease. That’s gone now.<\/p>\n \u201cI think it was clear the velo wasn\u2019t there\u201d early on last year, Senga said through an interpreter. \u201c[Now]\u00a0I feel really good, really content with where I\u2019m at. Obviously, there\u2019s some work still to do, but I\u2019m very happy.\u201d<\/p>\n If the Mets can get back the Senga of old, they have a shot at a truly dominant, deep rotation. Freddy Peralta, Senga, Nolan McLean, (a healthy) Sean Manaea, along with David Peterson and Clay Holmes? That\u2019s formidable.<\/p>\n 3. Brett Baty<\/p>\n Things finally seemed to click into place for Baty last season, and by the end of the year, Mendoza had no choice but to play him every day. Baty hit .308 in the last two months of the season and flashed his considerable athleticism with a fairly seamless transition to second base.<\/p>\n Even more is being asked of Baty in 2026, and he seems up to the task. With third base and second base locked up, Baty is stepping into a super-utility role, and will be expected to play two new positions,\u00a0first base<\/a> and rightfield.<\/p>\n \u201cThere\u2019s a competition for at-bats but he knows he\u2019s on the team,\u201d Mendoza said. \u201cHe\u2019s a different player [than who he was when he came up]. You can see it with the way he\u2019s going about it on or off the field \u2013 the interactions, the questions he\u2019s asking to pretty much every coach. It\u2019s just the confidence, not only defensively but offensively. He knows he\u2019s a really good big-league player and he\u2019ll continue to get opportunities.\u201d<\/p>\n A locked-in Baty who can now hit against lefties and play at least five\u00a0different positions (first, second, third, right and left) is a not-so secret weapon that gives the Mets a ton of in-game options.<\/p>\n 4. Tobias Myers (and the other middle relievers)<\/p>\n The back end of the Mets bullpen is going to be a big part of this team\u2019s fate, but don\u2019t discount the middle relievers.<\/p>\n The Mets last year suffered because, after the trade deadline, the bullpen was essentially full of closers, Mendoza said \u2013 referring to the preponderance of one-inning guys. Players like Myers<\/a> and Huascar Brazoban, though, have the potential to be unsung heroes for a team that struggled to keep its relief corps ready and healthy. The role doesn\u2019t come with a lot of fanfare, but it may prove pivotal.<\/p>\n 5. Luis Robert Jr.<\/p>\n Robert has been putting on a show on the Clover Park backfields and is set to get his first Grapefruit League start Thursday. A defensively elite centerfielder, the former All Star saw his offense go flat as he battled various lower-body injuries the past two seasons. The Mets have an action plan to keep him healthy, and with good reason: They believe that if he can stay on the field<\/a>, he can rake.<\/p>\n \u201cIf I was a minor leaguer and I saw Robert at one of my games and he looked like that and ran like that and hit like that, I would have said I had no chance to play,\u201d said David Wright, who is visiting camp this week.<\/p>\n
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