Trea Turner and 3 more new rivals who will be pains in the NL East

The National League East got a lot tougher this offseason. Three teams are trying to seriously compete. Another has added to their roster and will cause a lot of trouble along the way for the New York Mets.

One of the best players the Mets will have to deal with is Trea Turner. Reunited as a rival, Turner is now on the Philadelphia Phillies instead of the Washington Nationals. He’ll be a problem for at least a part of his 11-year contract. Year one should provide us with plenty of sports hate for him.

What about those other pains entering the division? They may not be superstars, but we can already prepare ourselves for some aggravation when dealing with them.

1) Luis Arraez will be a different level pest against the NY Mets at the plate

If someone can do to the Mets what Jeff McNeil does to everyone else, it’s Luis Arraez. These players are so close in ability it’s eerie. They also both happened to win the 2022 batting title. McNeil took it in the National League. Arraez did so for the Minnesota Twins.

Arraez will be one of those pesky hitters in the Miami Marlins lineup hoping to spoil games we thought the Mets had in the bag. He doesn’t hit for much power but in parts of four MLB seasons he is the owner of a .314/.374/.410 slash line. He has walked more than he has struck out in his career. It’s a slim margin but a notable one.

Versatile on defense as well, Arraez is the kind of guy the Marlins can fit into any defensive alignment. He’s one of the last players you’d want to see at the beginning, middle, or end of a rally. Maybe most frightening of all, he’ll still be 25 when the Mets first see him in their opening series.