NY Mets Opening Day lineup decision that’ll say more than it accomplishes

One. Two. Three. And probably four. There isn’t much of a debate as to how the New York Mets Opening Day lineup will go. Unless something changes, the expectation is to see Francisco Lindor, Juan Soto, Bo Bichette, and Jorge Polanco in that order. It’s the after when things get fishy.

The final five hitters in the Mets lineup are more interchangeable than most. The fifth spot in the order is probably going to change often, sometimes based on pitcher handedness and a player’s history against him. The hottest of someone’s bat as well as respect for veterans should play an additional factor, too.

Whomever the Mets decide to roll out there in the first lineup of the season at number five will say a lot while not really accomplishing anything specific.

Will the Mets favor veterans a little too much this year or be unafraid to demote them in the lineup?

The pair of Luis Robert Jr. and Marcus Semien are certainly candidates to bat fifth. Each could find themselves hitting ninth as well. Out of respect for what they’ve accomplished and the ceiling of what their bats can do, it’s probably a good guess that one of them gets in there behind Polanco in the first lineup of the season.

That shouldn’t be anything permanent. Someone like Brett Baty needs to be a candidate to get in there, too. How long or if the Mets even do move him that high in the lineup.

Interestingly, Baty did his best work batting ninth for the Mets last year. In 50 plate appearances, he had a 1.068 OPS with a .455 batting average. He had a .735 OPS when batting seventh and a .758 OPS when batting eighth.

Many are excited about what Baty can do after his strong finish last year and what he has shown this spring. However, even at his best, he’s not all that much greater than what Semien and Robert have done at their worst.

The current Mets regime has shown they’re flexible and not too attached to favoring veterans if they aren’t playing well enough. Less “disrespectful” is to move a guy down the order if it’s what’s best for the team. Semien and Robert back-to-back in that or the other order seems inevitable for a period. However, guys like Baty, Francisco Alvarez, and Carson Benge are capable of passing them. What’s true on Opening Day won’t apply by the end of May when reality sets in.

On Sunday, the Mets put together a lineup closely resembling what we could see on Opening Day sans Juan Soto. Semien second, Robert fifth, and Baty sixth hinted at some sort of preference.

Performance should dictate nearly all lineup decisions. How much rope will they give the more proven veterans versus the younger kids still trying to dig their feet in?