Mets starting lineup prediction with J.D. Martinez in the middle of it

By the end of today, you’re going to have JDM as your favorite initialism. New York Mets fans have no choice but to get excited about the addition of J.D. Martinez to the roster. Thinking about the way his presence will immediately improve the starting lineup was too much for me to get a good sleep Thursday into Friday. A teething baby didn’t help matters much either.

So what kind of a starting lineup will Carlos Mendoza put together? This past week, the Mets gave us a preview of what many believed could be one option. Critics weren’t shy to point out the lack of power in the middle of the order. Notably, having Jeff McNeil hit behind Pete Alonso never seemed ideal.

With Martinez now in tow, what’s the best lineup the Mets can produce?

What the Mets starting lineup should look like on Opening Day

Rather than proclaim anything bold such as dropping Brandon Nimmo to the third spot (something we can believe but is an argument for a different topic) let’s instead stay in the realm of more possible. Those tricks can be rolled out later.

1) Brandon Nimmo, LF
2) Francisco Lindor, SS
3) Pete Alonso, 1B
4) J.D. Martinez, DH
5) Jeff McNeil, 2B
6) Starling Marte, RF
7) Francisco Alvarez, C
8) Brett Baty, 3B
9) Harrison Bader, CF

The lineup still has Jeff McNeil batting in a traditional power spot. Until the Mets decide for some bigger changes, it remains realistic for him to bat there. We could move him up to the number three spot and everyone else down one as an alternative. In either case, the Mets now look a lot more threatening.

There is room to grow for some of these players. A guy like Starling Marte performing like he did in 2022 should make him a candidate to hit in the number one or two spot. Further growth from Francisco Alvarez makes him an option more close to the middle although the veterans will probably take precedence even if he outperforms them.

This lineup has gone from one of chance to something much more legitimate. All it took was a long offseason of waiting for the team to make one of the most obvious additions needed. Of course, the price needed to drop. Was it worth all of the pain?

When a scrub reliever throws a meatball to Pete Alonso in the seventh with two on because he sees J.D. Martinez on deck, we’ll forget all about the months of moaning.