A test of the biggest NY Mets criticism will come in Game 2 vs. the Pirates

David Stearns opened the New York Mets' offseason with a mandate. Priority number one was to improve the club's run prevention capabilities. At the time, it seemed to make a lot of sense. The Mets were coming off a year in which they were not a good defensive team, ranking 21st in baseball with a collective -21 outs above average. Defensive Runs Saved like them a little better, as the unit's mark of 25 placed 15th, but there was still work to be done.

Operating under the belief that a good deal of 2025's unraveling was due to poor defensive play, Stearns executed on this philosophy almost immediately by dealing a defensively declining Brandon Nimmo to the Texas Rangers for 2025 Gold Glove second baseman Marcus Semien.

However, when the Mets' front office leader signed Jorge Polanco, a 32-year-old in defensive freefall who spent most of 2025 at DH to play first base, a position he had never really played, his commitment to the strategy was called into question. When he doubled down and signed Bo Bichette, a poor glove at shortstop, to play a brand new position for him at third base, it seemed as if he had abandoned the strategy altogether.

The reality is more nuanced than that. What Stearns did was invest heavily in defense at the premium positions up the middle. Francisco Lindor has a Platinum Glove at shortstop already, and being joined by Semien as his double-play partner with another Gold Glover in Luis Robert Jr. in center field, New York has ensured that they are solid where it matters most. The corners are where he's betting big on offensive production outweighing defensive shortcomings, and although Opening Day is behind us, the biggest challenge to this strategy comes in the second game against the Pittsburgh Pirates.

The Mets' Bo Bichette and Jorge Polanco gambles will be put to the test with David Peterson on the mound

Toronto Blue Jays fans couldn't help themselves throughout spring training, taking every opportunity to roast the Mets for Bichette's glovework every time a video surfaced of him muffing a ball in warmups. Those without an axe to grind posted a more nuanced view, reminding us all that learning a new position is a process.

As the spring progressed, Bichette flashed some skill with some eye-popping defensive plays, which was encouraging even amid the growing pains. If anyone can turn Bichette into a credible defender at third, which is all he really needs to be, it's bench coach Kai Correa.

With David Peterson taking the mound in the second game of the season, we'll get a better chance to see how Correa's work with Bichette (and Polanco) has gone this spring. Although a game has been played already, Opening Day starter Freddy Peralta is like the three-true-outcomes version of a pitcher, with strikeouts, fly balls, and walks being the most common outcomes. His 36.6% career ground ball rate and 37.3% mark from a year ago mean the infielders aren't tested nearly as much.

Peterson, however, is one of the most groundball-heavy pitchers in the league. Last year, his 54.7% ground ball rate ranked fifth among qualified starters, and marked the third straight season in which he posted a ground ball rate of greater than 50%.

That will put Bichette to the test, but the player who will be even more in focus is Polanco. While there's a sentiment that first base defense doesn't matter that much, you can't just put a traffic cone out there and call it a day.

One of the most underrated defensive skills, and one that is unique to the cold corner, is the ability to scoop balls out of the dirt. With Peterson presumably generating a higher-than-average amount of action on the ground, the chances that Polanco gets tested in this regard are greater. Failure often leads to an extra base, so how he handles this will be critical.

All in all, Peterson will put his infielders to the test, and while it's only one game and it's very early in the season, how these two defensive dart throws look could tell us a lot about how the season will play out. At the very least, they'll be keeping us on our toes.