5 recent big Mets spring training performances that jumpstarted a player's career

The New York Mets will have many new faces arriving in Port St. Lucie, Florida on February 12th. Most of the roster is already set for opening day with the exception of a couple of bullpen and utility role competitions. We know Pete Alonso will be the first baseman, Brandon Nimmo will roam the outfield, and Kodai Senga will toe the rubber as their number one starter. As questions were answered from the offseason, many have gone unanswered. For instance, is Mark Vientos going to be the designated hitter? Is Brett Baty going to be contested as the everyday third baseman? Does the price of diapers still motivate D.J. Stewart?

Suffice it to say, the Mets will have competition in determining certain roles on opening day. The most intriguing aspect of spring training is evaluating the performance of players who are not guaranteed certain roles. For example, Tylor Megill is traveling to Port St. Lucie without a guaranteed role; he could be the 5th starter, a long-relief pitcher, or start the season in AAA Syracuse. For this reason, Megill's performance in March will determine the short-term reality of his career. If he performs well, Megill could force his way into the rotation and build upon his opportunity. In reviewing the past few spring training, which fringe players jumpstarted their careers by first performing well in spring training?

5. Dominic Smith, 2019.

The Mets finished the 2018 regular season without a clear answer at first base. They started the season with Adrian Gonzalez signed to a minimum-value contract, just to release him by mid-June. From that point on, the team tried out Jay Bruce, Wilmer Flores, and Dominic Smith at first base. In summary, none of these players performed well enough to earn an everyday role in 2019. In fact, only Smith would return in February from this cast of players from 2018. This was in part due to the intrigue of Pete Alonso's monster performance in the minor leagues that season.

Based on the circumstances, Smith entered spring training without a role on the Mets. His performance both at the major and minor league levels in 2018 was the worst of his career, leading him to fall below Alonso and J.D. Davis on the depth chart. The team tried to play Smith in left field, but his offense did not overcome any defensive deficiencies. As per the prior spring training with Gonzalez at first base, Smith would have to outperform his competition to make the roster.

Smith entered spring training 2019 as a brand-new man; he sought treatment for sleep apnea in the offseason and reworked his batting approach with the help of new hitting coach Chili Davis. This resulted in a .321 batting average with 2 home runs and 12 RBI across 19 spring training games. Even though Alonso drew all the attention for his great performance, Smith impressed Brodie Van Wagenen enough to make the roster as a pinch hitter and defensive replacement. Smith would perform well in 2019, hitting .282 with 11 home runs and 25 RBI across just 89 games, earning himself an everyday role in 2020.

4. Seth Lugo, 2018.

All offseason we have debated the moves we want David Stearns to make, and the moves that he must make. During the 2018 offseason, Sandy Alderson had a few areas he needed to address one of them being the starting rotation. While the 'Flushing Five' all arrived at spring training healthy, nobody in the organization could trust them to remain healthy. The number one reason the 2017 Mets imploded was because every starting pitcher other than Jacob deGrom threw less than 100 innings.

Alderson addressed this need by signing Jason Vargas to complement deGrom, Noah Syndergaard, and Matt Harvey as the 'four locks' in the rotation. This meant Robert Gsellman, Steven Matz, Seth Lugo, and Zack Wheeler competed for the final slot with at least one of them destined for the bullpen and the other 2 starting the season in AAA. In terms of the depth chart, Lugo found himself 7th behind Matz and Wheeler given his 4.71 ERA through 18 starts in 2017.

By the time opening day rolled around, Vargas was placed on the injured list after having surgery on his glove-side hand. Matz was also announced as being a part of the rotation, leaving just one slot open for the final 3 remaining on the depth chart. After posting a 2.87 ERA in 15.2 innings pitched with 17 strikeouts, Lugo earned the final rotation spot. Although Lugo moved to the bullpen in April after having his first start rained out, he posted a 2.66 ERA in 101.1 innings pitched with 103 strikeouts. In the seasons to proceed, Lugo became the most trustworthy relief pitcher on the Mets' staff, making this spring training the jumpstart of his career.

3. Michael Conforto, 2017.

The Mets had a plethora of outfielders heading to Port St. Lucie in 2017. The team had just signed Yoenis Cespedes to a contract worth 4-years $110 million. Curtis Granderson was in the final season of his 4-year contract, Juan Lagares was penciled in as a defensive replacement, and Nimmo had only played in 32 major league games. The question during the offseason was if the Mets would trade Jay Bruce with one year remaining on his contract or give the final outfield spot to Michael Conforto, who struggled immensely in 2016.

Alderson decided not to trade Bruce and committed to him as the opening-day right fielder. This left Conforto blocked in the outfield by veteran players, meaning he would likely be optioned to AAA for the start of 2017. However, the 24-year-old once heralded top prospect was determined to prove the front office wrong and avoid taking the long flight to Las Vegas. He hit .300 with 3 home runs and 5 RBI through 24 games, earning himself consideration for the fourth outfield job.

By the time opening day came around, Lagares and Nimmo were both placed on the injured list. This gave the organization no other choice but to bring Conforto back north with them to play the Atlanta Braves. While it was widely perceived Conforto would return to AAA once Lagares was activated by mid-April, the Mets were glad the 24-year-old never appeared in a game for the Las Vegas 51's in 2017. Not only was Conforto's performance stellar hitting .279 with 27 home runs and 68 RBI, but he earned an all-star nod and became the Mets' everyday leadoff hitter. Had Conforto not raked in spring training, this breakout season would have been delayed.

1. Pete Alonso, 2019.

What was perhaps the most memorable spring training performance concluded with a franchise-altering decision that we now face in 2024. When Van Wagenen became general manager in October 2018, the Mets had many names that could play first base, but none were guaranteed the everyday role. Alonso was coming off a minor league season in which he hit 36 home runs and 119 RBI. He became a top-50 prospect on the MLB Pipeline and figured to earn an opportunity to become the franchise's next first baseman. However, Alonso was not on the 40-man roster and the Mets would lose a year of service time (2025) if he made the opening-day roster.

Van Wagenen did everything he could to protect against Alonso not being ready for the major leagues. He signed Jed Lowrie with the idea Todd Frazier would move to first base. Van Wagenen also traded for Robinson Cano and J.D. Davis, both of whom had first-base experience. Lastly, Smith remained a factor to breakout still at just 24 years old. The only thing Alonso could do was force himself onto the roster.

Alonso concluded the most important spring training of his career with a bang, hitting .352 with 4 home runs and 11 RBI. Not only did he prove the power in his swing is legitimate, but Alonso quieted the critics by showing he was no 'butcher' at first base. Van Wagenen made the most successful decision of his front office tenure by selecting Alonso's contract on opening day. While this decision will make Alonso a free agent in 2024 as opposed to 2025, he won NL Rookie of the Year in 2019 and set the major league record with 53 home runs in his first season. With everything working against the 24-year-old phenom, Alonso's spring training performance forced the Mets' hand in starting his career right from opening day.