New York Mets: An early look at a 30-man roster and Taxi Squad
By Ed Stein
Batting order
This is the fun or frustrating part for manager Luis Rojas, depending on how he looks at it. The New York Mets have something many other teams don’t, flexibility. They have several players, such as McNeil, Davis, and Lowrie, who can play at multiple positions. The key, however, will be Cano.
Last year, Robby was a shell of the player he was up until joining the New York Mets. At 36-years old, his body started to break down. Cano was a .304/.355/.493/.848 career player, before joining the Amazins. In 2019, nagging injuries reduced him to .256/.307/.428/.735. If he can hold up to the daily grind at second base, he’ll play in the field. If not, Cano is the DH against right-handed pitching.
Will Cespedes be anything close to the player he once was? No one knows. He didn’t take a single spring training at-bat. If he has anything decent in the tank, Cespedes would also be ideal to slot in as the designated hitter against righties.
Lineup vs. lefties
- McNeil – 2B/3B/LF
- Rosario – SS
- Alonso – 1B
- Conforto – RF
- Davis – 3B/LF
- Cano – 2B
- Ramos – C/DH
- Lowrie – DH or Nido – C
- Nimmo – CF
Lineup vs. righties
- McNeil – 2B/3B/LF
- Rosario – SS
- Cano – 2B/DH
- Alonso – 1B/DH
- Conforto – RF
- Smith – 1B/LF
- Lowrie – 3B or Davis – 3B/LF or Cespedes – DH
- Ramos – C
- Nimmo – CF