3 players whose spot in the Mets Opening Day lineup can sway the most

What does your ideal New York Mets Opening Day lineup look like? In our dreams, everyone is healthy. Everyone had a hot spring. There is little doubt the offense will click and cause those who underestimated the Mets to fearfully try to back track.

We know better than this. Someone is going to get hurt. Another guy is going to get off to a slump that carries over into the regular season. Yet another Mets player will shine in an uncharacteristic way.

The Mets Opening Day lineup card is far from set. And these three players have a chance to sway the pen more drastically than anyone else.

1) Starling Marte

Nobody’s spot in the Mets Opening Day lineup has the ability to change more than Starling Marte. A leadoff hitter candidate when he’s doing well, the ideal situation for him seems to be hitting second. Or maybe it’s fifth. Maybe lower?

The Mets used Marte out of the number two spot 107 times back in 2022. The only other place he had more than two starts was in the number seven spot. This could change drastically in 2024 depending on his performance and how some of the younger players perform.

Options at the top of the lineup are plentiful and the Mets won’t have to force Marte in there if he isn’t performing. Unfortunately, another poor performance from Marte does set them up to have potentially two weak-hitting outfielders at the very bottom of the lineup. Most would expect Harrison Bader to hit ninth. Marte, if he drops as low as the number eight spot, might actually make more sense in this spot instead given how much of a proven base stealer he is.

In 2024, Marte has the potential to hit as high as the number two spot on a regular basis with the occasional leadoff placement. The low, at least to begin the year, should have him around seventh.