3 key storylines to follow as Mets prepare to open spring

This story was excerpted from Anthony DiComo's Mets Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.

Most of what the Mets accomplished this offseason occurred at the margins. A fruitless pursuit of Yoshinobu Yamamoto aside, team officials spent the winter months shoring up their bullpen, filling out their rotation and adding a couple of bench pieces. Put those things together, and new president of baseball operations David Stearns hopes it will be enough for the team to jell into a playoff contender.

The most crucial questions surrounding this roster, however, orbit players who have been around for years. A team that finished in fourth place in the division last season is relying on much of the same core, especially on the position-player side of things. So who might rebound? Who might break out? Whose future is unclear? The answers to these questions could make the difference between a successful season and another difficult one.

Such as:

1. How will Pete Alonso perform in his walk year?
Get ready to hear early and often about how Alonso is entering his final season of team control. He and the Mets have both expressed a desire for a long-term union, but until a deal comes together -- and Stearns said Monday not to expect one until next offseason -- questions will abound.

“When you have a really talented player who is really good who is entering his final year of club control, who happens to be represented by Scott Boras, these things generally end up into free agency,” Stearns told reporters at Mets camp. “We understand that.”

That should make Alonso’s walk year even more intriguing than it otherwise would have been. It’s worth noting that Alonso has never had trouble with the New York spotlight, bashing 53 homers as a rookie and backing it up with one of the best five-year starts to a career in franchise history. Why should this be any different?

By the way, for the history buffs among you: With 192 career home runs, Alonso enters 2024 tied with Howard Johnson for the fourth-most homers in franchise history. He should leapfrog Mike Piazza (220) for third place relatively easily, but passing David Wright (242) and Darryl Strawberry (252) will require Alonso to stick around long-term. If he does, he is primed to become the franchise’s home run king at some point in 2025. If not, he’ll be another Strawberry as far as the team record books are concerned.

2. How effective can Starling Marte still be?
As 2023 progressed, so too did the narrative surrounding Marte’s injury. Two offseasons ago, the veteran outfielder underwent what the Mets initially called a core muscle operation. Marte later revealed that he had surgery on each side of his groin. He and the club had hoped he would be back to full strength well in advance of Opening Day, but when it became clear that Marte was playing through significant discomfort and risked reinjury, he shut things down for good in August.

Marte is now 35 years old and has appeared in 204 games over the past two seasons. He has submitted just one full, healthy season in his career, and that was back in 2015. Yet the Mets did not acquire much insurance this offseason for Marte, who once again enters camp as the team’s starting right fielder. When healthy, he’s still a dynamic player, but health has been difficult for him to maintain.

Stearns, at least, said his early looks at Marte this spring have been “encouraging.” The Mets will do everything possible to keep him on the field this summer, including offering him regular rest and DH days. They know the ceiling of their offense will depend at least in part on Marte’s ability to play.

3. What can youngsters Brett Baty and Mark Vientos provide?
Although they’ll need to perform well in camp competitions, Baty (third base) and Vientos (designated hitter) are primed to open the season with full-time jobs despite struggling as rookies last season. The Mets could have invested -- and technically still can -- in pricey free-agent replacements for those two, but Stearns has been clear in preaching the value of giving such opportunities to young players.

If nothing else, Baty and Vientos are indeed still young, possessing top-tier Draft pedigree and potential. Both have yet to complete a full big league season. The hype that surrounded them last spring has dissipated, due in large part to the fact that Baty produced a .598 OPS and Vientos finished at .620. But each enters camp having recently turned just 24 years old, and the Mets will give them every opportunity to show they’ve improved. With that sort of runway, anything is possible.