5 big Mets spring training performances from 2023 that turned out to be a fluke

Spring training 2023. All of the hope in the world. The New York Mets were bound to make it deep into the playoffs. Capture the National League East crown. Roll through the postseason against inferior teams. Maybe end with a parade.

A team of destiny, a lot of the excitement began in the preseason with some excellent performances.

As it turns out, these five Mets who posted big spring training numbers would eventually see a much different reality set in. Their success in March turned out to be a complete fluke.

1) Max Scherzer

Max Scherzer looked like the ace the Mets needed last spring. In his four starts that spanned 17.2 innings, Scherzer was 2-1 with a 1.53 ERA. He struck out 25 batters, walked 2, and allowed one home run. He was the King of Spring. Ghosts of what happened in the previous year’s postseason looked like they would be erased.

Yeah. We wish.

Scherzer wasn’t a complete failure for the Mets in 2023 especially when compared to some of the other performances. When we consider the expectations, it’s impossible to not feel underwhelmed.

In his 19 starts for New York in 2023, Scherzer was 9-4 with a 4.01 ERA. Home runs were a big reason for it. Prone to serve up meatballs a little more often than the average ace, the 1.9 home runs per 9 was the highest rate of his entire MLB career.

This wasn’t a case of him running out of gas either. He allowed 3 earned runs in 6 innings on Opening Day and another 5 in his 5.1 frames in start number two. His suspension for a sticky substance against the Los Angeles Dodgers stole away two starts and when he returned after the layoff he got hammered by the Detroit Tigers.

Scherzer had too many outings in 2023 where he looked his age.

2) David Peterson

David Peterson would make his way into the Mets starting rotation to open the season as a replacement for Jose Quintana. Peterson earned it. He tossed 12 shutout innings in the preseason while allowing just a single hit. A bit too wild with 8 walks, it was excusable if batters weren’t going to have a chance to use their bats against him.

Unfortunately, the only thing Peterson carried with him to the regular season was the wildness. He’d match his previous year’s total of 4.1 walks per 9 but added a whole lot of hard hit balls.

Following a successful debut against the Miami Marlins, Peterson had a major decline. He allowed 4 or more earned runs in four of his five April starts. He added another two in May before finally getting sent back to the minors. At that point, Peterson was 1-6 with an 8.08 ERA.

When he eventually returned, Peterson was much better. He engaged in a relief role for a period of time in late July before moving back to the rotation with the Mets stretching him out slowly in August.

Overall totals for Peterson in 2023 had him at 3-8 with a 5.03 ERA. Even if he did improve in the second half, it wasn’t nearly good enough for the team to even consider him as a lock to make the rotation in 2024. Offseason surgery won’t even give him the chance for this as he’ll spend a few months on the IL to begin this coming year.

4) Starling Marte

Starling Marte’s injury is the excuse we all hope is the reason why the 2023 season turned out to be so unproductive. This is the best case scenario for the Mets right fielder. They need him badly.

Marte wasn’t completely unwatchable last year. He had a successful spring training going 11 for 32. He even added 4 doubles and a home run. The .344/.361/.563 slash line was exactly what we wanted out of a veteran leader going up against minor league pitchers on a regular basis down in Florida.

However, the fun was short-lived. Although he missed a lot of time for the Mets, Marte did still appear in 86 games. In the slightly more than half a season, he was a shell of himself. Slashing .248/.301/.324 along the way, the absence of any sort of power was one of the bigger declines. He finished the year with only 7 doubles and 5 home runs. 

Some bad luck might have been at work here as Marte increased his hard-hit percentage from 33.9% to 39.7% from 2022 to 2023. The exit velocity went up slightly, too. There weren’t too many overly negative trends to explain other than a nearly 6% drop in line drives and going the opposite way more often—although this isn’t necessarily a bad thing.

Those nagging injuries might’ve been what caused Marte to have such a bad regular season after a hot spring. Keep your fingers crossed.

5) Tomas Nido

Mets catcher Tomas Nido had one of the hottest springs of anybody in 2023. His 14 hits fell second on the team between Mark Vientos and Brett Baty. Among those hits were 3 doubles and another 3 home runs. His .359/.375/.667 slash line was unattainably terrific for a player of his caliber.

Maybe the flukiest spring performance of all, Nido ended up batting .125/.153/.125 for the Mets and failed to have a single extra base hit in any of his 61 chances. He drove in only a single run before the team designated him for assignment. Nido did manage to pass through waivers and would later accept an assignment to the minor leagues where he rode out the rest of the year.

This wouldn’t normally be such an uncommon situation except the Mets decided to extend Nido before the season began. He made $1.6 million in 2023 and is owed $2.1 million in 2024.

A better coach and teammate at this point of his career, Nido will be a valuable teacher for the young pitchers in Syracuse with a chance to make it back to the majors if the need arises. Anything he possibly offers in a game with his bat is extra.