Grading the Mets: Position players, bench, bullpen

MIDDLE INFIELDERS

Shortstop Francisco Lindor and second baseman Jeff McNeil are together again, back for Season 5 — yes, already — as the double-play combo.

Lindor, the Mets’ best all-around player, finished second in NL MVP voting last year. Fascinatingly, he has three top-10 MVP finishes and zero All-Star nods since coming to Queens in 2021. Maybe this is the year.

McNeil, conversely, has something to prove entering 2025. He has rated as an average-or-worse hitter in three of the past four seasons . . . and won a batting title in the other. So the pressure is on when he returns from a slightly strained right oblique. If he has another bad start, watch out for Luisangel Acuna or, behind him later in the year, Jett Williams. McNeil’s defensive versatility makes him valuable even if someone else takes over at second.

GRADE: B+

CORNER INFIELDERS

Get ready for fireworks. There is a version of this season in which first baseman Pete Alonso and third baseman Mark Vientos combine for 80 home runs — maybe more.

Both players come with questions, though.

Alonso underperformed last year as he headed into free agency. Now, back on a two-year, $54 million contract with an opt-out clause after this season, he is in a de facto contract year again. Did he learn anything from the last go-around?

And Vientos will have to show that his 2024 breakout, in which he totaled 27 home runs and 71 RBIs in basically three-quarters of a season, was real. If the league figures him out, can he adjust back?

GRADE: B+

OUTFIELDERS

Welcome to the Juan Soto Show. He will be the man in rightfield, now and for what feels like forever, after signing a 15-year, $765 million contract. Everything else the Mets do — in the offseason, on the field, etc. — is to complement their new franchise pillar.

Jose Siri and Tyrone Taylor are due to split time in centerfield. Both are glove-first players, which the Mets, who prioritize defense at up-the-middle positions, are fine with. Both occasionally flash offensive ability, too, including some pop, so if one guy gets hot, expect him to play more for that stretch.

Brandon Nimmo, the team’s longest-tenured player, is in leftfield. He should bounce back from a down year at the plate, but his legs holding up after some red flags over the past 12 months will be key.

GRADE: A-

CATCHERS

Entering his third year as the starter, Francisco Alvarez is expecting big things — just like at the start of each of the past two seasons. Although his hitting hasn’t lived up to his top-prospect-in-the-entire-sport billing from before he debuted, all of the talent is still there. Don’t forget: He still is only 23 years old. His season will be delayed about a month, though, after he broke a bone in his left hand in early March.

GRADE: B-

DH/BENCH

Outfielders Jesse Winker and Starling Marte are set to serve as the designated hitter platoon, with Winker getting most of those at-bats since he’ll face righties and Marte slotting in against lefthanders. In theory, they should make quite the productive duo.

On the bench, Luis Torrens profiles as a prototypical backup catcher, a great in-season pickup (from the Yankees) last season. Taylor plays all three outfield spots and is likely to spot Nimmo and Soto when they need it.

The utility infielder role is TBD, and it may well be a rotating cast throughout the year. Brett Baty and Acuna are highly likely to get chances at some point in 2025.

GRADE: B

BULLPEN

With the usual caveat that reliever performance is infamously volatile and difficult to predict, a declaration: This group could be dominant.

Closer Edwin Diaz has a pair of traditional, established setup men in lefthander A.J. Minter and righthander Ryne Stanek. Behind them, a pair of homegrown, less experienced righthanders who made good impressions last year: Jose Butto (usually a multi-inning option) and Dedniel Nunez (the one-inning version). And Reed Garrett is back after a strong showing in 2024.

That is six guys out of eight spots — or seven, if the Mets pull off a six-man rotation, as is their desire. So the Mets have more relievers they really like than gigs available if – big if – everybody is healthy. Expect to see plenty of Danny Young, Max Kranick and Huascar Brazoban, too.

GRADE: A-