Predicting winners of 3 big Mets spring training battles to watch

2) New York Mets primary designated hitter: Francisco Alvarez

The Mets have a host of suitors for the starting designated hitter role, including Daniel Vogelbach and Darin Ruf, but Francisco Alvarez has an incredible amount of raw power that translated into gameday power over the past two seasons in the minors. He hit 51 home runs in the minors since 2021 and hit another one in the majors in the last week of the regular season in October.

As of now, Alvarez is not in the Mets’ plans to be a designated hitter for now, but of course things can change over the next six weeks. He should be, because the Mets’ lack of power was a major reason why a 101-win season last year came to an abrupt early end. Alvarez has the type of power that can change, lengthen, and balance the Mets’ lineup.

Alvarez knows he has a thing or two to prove in Port St. Lucie over the next six weeks, from defense to facing major league pitching. Last year, he showed tremendous leadership, and even received positive reviews from mentor and fellow catcher Tomas Nido and a future Hall-of-Famer in Max Scherzer.

But the bottom line here is the Mets’ season will be viewed as a disappointment if they don’t make the World Series, so it would be best for Billy Eppler to bring the group of 26 that gives them the best chance to win, and Alvarez will make the team thanks to his home run potential. Brodie Van Wagenen saw that four years ago with a rookie named Pete Alonso, now Eppler must see the same if (and when) Alvarez has a great spring.

3) New York Mets bullpen open spots: Jeff Brigham, Tommy Hunter, Elieser Hernandez

The Mets bullpen enters their first workouts this week with five givens among its group of eight in Edwin Diaz, Adam Ottavino, Brooks Raley, David Robertson, and Drew Smith. So this leaves three spots to earn among about what will probably be about 12 candidates, several of whom were low-risk, high-reward pickups this offseason.

But I think one non-roster invitee along with two relievers on the 40-man roster will get the jobs out of camp.

First, I think Jeff Brigham and Elieser Hernandez will be the two other relievers on the 40-man roster to make the team. They were the two pitchers they acquired in a trade with the Miami Marlins last November.

Brigham brings excellent stuff to the hill, most notably a nasty slider that can be a serious weapon for the Mets with its tremendous horizontal movement. The Mets got success from Adam Ottavino last year for incorporating his slider into his game in big spots, and the Mets would see something similar for Brigham. He also brings an above average fastball velocity of 95 mph and can touch 98 at times

Hernandez figures to be a long reliever for the Mets in the bullpen after letting Trevor Williams go this winter. He did have a rough season in Miami last year, but he threw first pitch strikes 69.1 percent of the time last year, which was ranked 7th among all pitchers that threw 50 or more innings last year. Jeremy Hefner will coach him up and he’ll prove himself when he pitches for Team Venezuela in the World Baseball Classic in March.  

The non-roster invitee that I predict will make the team is Tommy Hunter. Even in a limited capacity and without many high leverage situations, he was really good last year, pitching to a 2.42 ERA in 22.1 innings and 18 appearances. Buck Showalter’s familiarity with him and Hunter’s status as a veteran would help the Mets, and he will prove himself again this spring.