4 bold Mets predictions for the 2022 season

The 2022 New York Mets season has raised the excitement level to a whole new level. I know you’ve probably heard that before. Plenty of past Mets teams have either lived up to the hype or surpassed it. Others lie somewhere in a cloud within our brains buried with the trauma of getting picked last in kickball or finding out that our fifth grade crush wants everyone to sign her yearbook except for you and the weird kid in class. Maybe you were weird, too?

Fans are predicting big things for the Mets in 2022. The unbiased experts believe so as well. There’s no denying what this team is capable of. Finishing the job is the tough part.

Both good and bad moments on the way, these are four bold Mets predictions for the 2022 season. Why only four? Because the Mets keep deciding to change their roster.

Bold Mets prediction: Carlos Carrasco or Taijuan Walker finishes the year in the bullpen

There was never any shot the Mets would move Carlos Carrasco or Taijuan Walker into a relief role to begin the season. Each makes too much money for that. As the year goes on, those lines of logic do fade based on performance. Sometimes, you do have to move a more expensive player into a limited role in order to put the best team on the field possible.

I’m not buying Carrasco or Walker putting together a career-year this season. There may be times when they look excellent. Each could conceivably better. In fact, one of them probably will be! But for both of them to pitch better throughout the 2022 season and stay healthy seems like a prediction to make only if the outfield grass at Citi Field is made of four-leaf clovers.

Carrasco or Walker is bound for a spot in the bullpen. The way I envision it happening is not because Tylor Megill or David Peterson outpitches them. Someone will be hurt in mid-July. The Mets are going to add to the roster.

When everyone does return healthy, the casualty will be the most underperforming pitcher in the rotation. It’s not exactly the boldest of predictions to pick the two guys coming off of lousy seasons. I’m not alone in having doubts about one or both of them.

Under Buck Showalter, I don’t think even veterans will get the benefit of the doubt when it comes to winning. The Mets are all-in this year. It requires some sacrifice.

Bold Mets prediction: At least one of the three free agent starting position players loses a lot of playing time

Starling Marte, Eduardo Escobar, and Mark Canha are the three new offensive players on the Mets roster. Will they last all 162 games as regulars at their position? Not this year.

This threesome brings a lot of experience to the Mets lineup. However, each is already entering their mid-30s and one is bound to slow down.

Marte seems unlikely to see his playing time reduce due to his contract. Escobar is making the least amount of money and the Mets have some options at third base. For Canha, we could always see a platoon situation develop between him and someone like Dominic Smith out in left field.

After the last few seasons and seeing the Mets miss on free agents, at least one of these guys is bound to have a disappointing season. None have been consistent All-Stars throughout his career. With even some of the greats putting together a sloppy year every so often, it’s not so outrageous to expect one of these additions to be a bust.

If it’s Escobar, we could expect to see Brett Baty or Mark Vientos promoted. If it’s Canha who struggles and ends up on the bench more often, Smith or J.D. Davis or even Baty or Vientos could see action in left field. There’s always the possibility of moving a few others around or making a trade deadline acquisition.

The Mets need to be mindful about putting the best team on the field regardless of payroll. Unfortunately, one of these three will not perform well enough to keep his everyday job.

Bold Mets prediction: NLCS bound, baby!

Let’s end on an upper. The Mets are going to the NLCS!

They won’t win it all or even get to the World Series this year. The 2022 campaign is about getting back into the mix. They’ve built a nice culture. Now it’s time to sip some playoff baseball and want it even more next season.

The Mets have the ability to be one of the most dangerous teams in the playoffs. That’s what happens when starting rotations shorten and you have two of the best pitchers in the game pitching back-to-back. It may take a few months before we get to see the Jacob deGrom/Max Scherzer duo. However, I'm going to take the optimistic approach.

Getting to the postseason should be easier this year with the playoffs expanding. The Mets just need to get there and do so with a healthy roster. Ha! Otherwise, they could exit quicker than we’d like.

Through orange and blue colored glasses, I envision the Mets getting to the NLCS before their bats slump and a team like the Los Angeles Dodgers or even Atlanta Braves does them in. Those might be the only two clubs with a better roster in the National League. Other contending hopefuls have too much working against them.

Second-place in the National League East and a trip to the NLCS is nothing to sneeze about. It’s what I’m predicting for this 2022 squad. Let’s see if they can match it or do better.