1 debatable NY Mets Opening Day roster decision looking more justified by the day

At 9-5, it’s hard to sensibly complain much about the New York Mets. You are what your record says you are, right?

While four of the six wins came against the Miami Marlins and we caught the Toronto Blue Jays during a weak stretch before they heated up, the team has looked like one of the better ball clubs in the league. How have they done? Stellar bullpen performances, consistent starting pitching, and a few mashed baseballs by Pete Alonso have been the biggest reasons why.

Maybe a little forgotten is how well Luis Torrens has done filling in for the injured Francisco Alvarez. One could make the case he has hit better than Alvarez would have if he was in the lineup. However, Torrens has been dealing with his own day-to-day injuries. This has given Hayden Senger ample opportunity to showcase what he can do.

Hayden Senger continues to justify the decision to place him on the Mets Opening Day roster

A 5 for 20 start is more than acceptable for a guy few thought had a chance to make the Mets roster out of camp. It would have taken an injury, but with free agent signings of Jakson Reetz and Chris Williams, Senger had some stiff competition. Outplaying those two mostly on the defensive side of the ball, the Mets made a choice that remains justified.

Some better than expected offense, as light as it is, comes across as appreciated. What got Senger here in the first place was the defensive reputation. So far, so brilliant.

The 28-year-old is keeping up with the tradition set by Torrens of keeping base runners honest. A plague on the Mets early last season, he has gunned down 3 out of 5 attempted base thieves. A catcher’s interference against him on Saturday accounts for his lone errors. Maybe the flukiest of mistakes a defense player can make, it shouldn’t change anyone’s feelings about the commendable job he has done.

Even with questions of his own, losing Alvarez felt like a devastating preseason blow to the Mets lineup. Torrens has handled the heavy lifting with Senger catching up in terms of playing time. If Torrens is the deadlift of the duo, Senger is the Nordic hamstring curl set to failure after. This is a team that could have rushed out to sign Yasmani Grandal or traded for someone else's scraps. Instead, they put trust in a Mets minor league lifer. They should be glad they did.

There wasn’t much of a debate about the Mets roster heading into Opening Day with one of the handful of battles being who’d get the backup catcher’s job to start things off. Attention on Senger has been minimal because this team has already had several surprising success stories on the mound. Although his time with the Mets will be limited, Senger has played well enough to avoid the waiver wire when Alvarez does come back.