Might Luis Guillorme’s defensive wizardry on Friday be a sign of things to come?

Last year, manager Luis Rojas regularly used Guillorme in the starting lineup whenever Rick Porcello, a ground ball pitcher who relies on his sinker, was on the mound. Porcello may be gone from New York, but Marcus Stroman, another sinkerballer with an even higher career ground ball rate, is back in the rotation.

Given the questions surrounding J.D. Davis’ ability to handle third defensively, the Mets could consider using Guillorme on days when Stroman pitches. In New York’s 4-2 loss to the Marlins at Clover Park in Jupiter, Fla., on Friday, Guillorme gave the team a preview of what that might look like, starting a flashy 5-4-3 double play, then ranging to his right to turn a potential Brian Anderson extra-base hit into an infield single.

“I practice those,” Guillorme said of the double-play pick. “Me and [third-base coach Gary] DiSarcina go out there every day. I work on short, second, third, and those are some of the plays that we practice -- little hard-hit balls to the left, to the right, coming in, just getting a little bit of everything every day.”

Mets officials haven’t acknowledged whether they’ll use a more defensive-minded lineup behind Stroman, whose 58.6 career ground ball rate ranks first among active Major League starters with at least 500 innings. In Stroman’s opinion, “it totally doesn’t matter,” even if the numbers suggest that Guillorme can make a difference.

“It’s not something I’d ever ask for,” Stroman said. “I just compete, man, and I love everybody that I have behind me, whoever’s out there on the field. I truly have the confidence on every single guy to get the job done, so that’s not something that ever enters my mind.”

Camp battles
Limited to simulated games on the back fields early this spring, fifth starter candidate Joey Lucchesi made his Grapefruit League debut on Friday with two scoreless innings. A rough start to the relief outing saw Lucchesi walk the leadoff man in the eighth, commit a throwing error and uncork a wild pitch. But the left-hander recovered to retire the final six batters he faced.

Lucchesi is battling David Peterson, Jordan Yamamoto, Jerad Eickhoff and others for a spot in the Opening Day rotation. If Carlos Carrasco’s elbow injury lingers long enough to knock him out of the starting five, Lucchesi would be a strong bet to break camp as a starter.

“Of course there’s competition, but I’m just out there focusing, tunnel vision, just doing my work and letting my work speak for itself,” Lucchesi said. “That’s all I have to say about that.”

To the left, to the left
For the first time in Grapefruit League play on Friday, Dominic Smith played left field. Although Smith will be the Mets’ regular left fielder this season, the Mets feared giving him too many early reps at the position given his foot stress fracture two years ago. As such, they waited until late in the second week of Grapefruit League games.

In four innings, Smith did not receive a defensive chance, but that should change with increased playing time over the next few weeks. The Mets are eager to see what Smith can do coming off his best offensive season as a big leaguer.

“Dom works extremely hard out there,” fellow outfielder Kevin Pillar said. “I think if you continue to read stuff or hear stuff that you’re not a good outfielder, you lack a little bit of confidence out there. I think he’s looked really good. I think he’s athletic enough to do it. He’s got a really strong arm. It’s just a matter of him continuing to get out there and get reps.”

Mets cetera
• The Mets scratched catcher Tomás Nido with a left foot contusion after he fouled a ball off himself Thursday during batting practice. X-rays were negative, and Nido is day-to-day. Caleb Joseph replaced him in Friday’s starting lineup.

• Broadcaster Keith Hernandez received his first dose of the Moderna vaccine this week. He intends to receive the second dose soon, then quarantine on Long Island to fulfill New York State requirements before Opening Day.

• Rojas missed Friday's game to attend to a personal matter. Bench coach Dave Jauss managed the Mets, with field coordinator Brian Schneider sliding into Jauss’ role for the day. Rojas is due back on Saturday.