Tim Tebow’s route on this ball was less than stellar

Even though Tim Tebow is entering his fourth season of professional ball, his outfield work still leaves something to be desired. Tebow started in left and batted ninth in the New York Mets’ spring training game on Sunday against St. Louis. Cardinals center fielder Harrison Bader led off the game with a homer to left-center, and Tebow’s route to the ball was not exactly smooth. As you can see in the video, Tebow starts cutting to his left before going back toward the wall in the...

Yoenis Cespedes ends media boycott to reflect on wild boar incident

Yoenis Cespedes’ boycott of the media lasted six days. Cespedes spoke for the first time this spring on Sunday, admitting that he made a “mistake” that led to his season-ending ankle fracture in May 2019. He added that he’s targeting Opening Day for his return to action. In other words, we’re not going to get much clarity regarding Cespedes’ reported wild boar incident. That incident cost him a lot of money as the Mets forced him to restructure his contract, and a lot of people...

Yoenis Cespedes Breaks Media Silence to Discuss Mets' 2020 Opening Day

After multiple ankle fractures caused him to miss the entire 2019 season, New York Mets outfielder Yoenis Cespedes expects to be ready for Opening Day...

Spring training open thread: Mets vs. Cardinals, 2/23/20

Jim Rassol-USA TODAY Sports

Steven Matz starts as the Mets play an exhibition game against the Cardinals.

SP: Steven Matz

TV: SNY
Radio: WCBS 880

Mets Morning News for February 23, 2020

Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images

Your Sunday morning dose of New York Mets and MLB news, notes, and links.

The Mets played their first spring training games yesterday, losing 5-3 to the Marlins and 1-0 to the Cardinals in split squad action. Rick Porcello and Wilson Ramos worked together for the first time and Luis Rojas managed his first game, among other firsts.

There are reportedly “no significant bidders” for the Mets at this time, which means the chances that...

Watch: Marlins’ Jazz Chisholm steals third, takes base with him

Miami Marlins prospect Jazz Chisholm wanted to make a strong impression on his coaches in his first spring training game. He made sure no one watching Saturday’s game would forget him, swiping third base and nearly stealing the actual base itself. Chisholm, a 22-year-old infield prospect, lined a single in the eighth inning in the eighth inning. After advancing to second on a fielder’s choice, Chisholm timed his jump perfectly against the New York Mets and took off for third. He got his...

Spring training open thread: Mets at Cardinals, 2/22/20

Jim Rassol-USA TODAY Sports

Marcus Stroman starts as a Mets split-squad visits the Cardinals in Jupiter.

SP: Marcus Stroman

First pitch: 1:05 PM EST

TV: FSMW via MLB.tv

Spring training open thread: Mets vs. Marlins, 2/22/20

Jim Rassol-USA TODAY Sports

Rick Porcello gets the start for the Mets in their first practice game of the year.

SP: Rick Porcello

First pitch: 1:10 PM EST

TV: WPIX
Radio: WCBS 880

Mets Morning News for February 22, 2020

Photo by Mark Brown/Getty Images

Your Saturday morning dose of New York Mets and MLB news, notes, and links.

Baseball is finally back today! Rick Porcello takes the mound for the Mets at home against the Marlins this afternoon, while Marcus Stroman will lead the away squad against the Cardinals.

ZiPS has the Mets finishing third in the National League East behind the Nationals and the Braves.

A lot of other projection systems are very high on the Mets heading into the 2020...

Mets optimistic about Yoenis Cespedes

New Mets skipper Luis Rojas discussed his initial impressions of still-rehabbing outfielder Yoenis Cespedes at this stage of camp. As MLB.com’s Anthony DiComo reports, the veteran seems to be showing a fair bit of promise as he looks to return from injury — but he also still has a ways to go. Per Rojas — Cespedes isn’t on speaking terms with the media at the moment — the 34-year-old is participating in about three-quarters to four-fifths of the activities of his healthy teammates....

Mets announce pitching rotation for first few Grapefruit League games

Jim Rassol-USA TODAY Sports

Porcello and Stroman will get the nod in split squad action on Saturday, with Matz closing out the weekend.

After a long offseason, the New York Mets will play their first two spring training games tomorrow, and the club has revealed which pitchers will toe the rubber this weekend.

Newcomer Rick Porcello will get the nod on Saturday at Port St. Lucie against the Miami Marlins, while Marcus Stroman will bring his good vibes to Jupiter and lead the other half of...

ZiPS projections predict the Mets finish third in the NL East

Photo by Jim McIsaac/Getty Images

The system sees the Mets as a coin flip to make the playoffs, tied with the Padres for the second Wild Card spot.

The projected standings of the ZiPS projection system, run by Dan Szymborski of FanGraphs, expects the Mets to go 87-75, finishing four games back of the Nationals and three behind the Braves in the division, ending the season in a tie with the Padres for the second Wild Card spot. The projections, which simulate the season one million times...

Mets Morning News for February 21, 2020

Photo by Mark Brown/Getty Images

Your Friday morning dose of New York Mets and MLB news, notes, and links.

Grapefruit League action is about to get underway and The Athletic put together a handy guide of terms that will define the Mets this spring (paywall alert).

New Met Rick Porcello will help get the action started which will give him the chance to put last season behind him.

Jeurys Familia is also hoping to move on from last year and so far he is happy with the early...

Mets, Orioles to play exhibition game at Naval Academy

The Baltimore Orioles and New York Mets will deliver some exciting baseball to the U.S. Military on March 24 with an exhibition game at the Naval Academy. It’s a tradition MLB held for several years, most recently in 2017, when the Washington Nationals and Boston Red Sox played in an exhibition game at the Naval Academy. The Orioles blocked the Nationals from playing an exhibition game in Annapolis in October 2017. It consequently ended the Naval Academy Baseball Classic for two years, but...

Breaking down how camp battle over Mets' rotation could shake out

We looked Wednesday at the rotation battle in Phillies’ camp. Now, let’s head across the division and see what’s kicking with the Mets. Last year’s Mets staff was loaded with talent, but didn’t necessarily produce to its ceiling. Even with Jacob deGrom running out to a second-straight Cy Young award and Zack Wheeler setting the stage for a $110M contract — one he signed with those rival Phils — the unit managed only a  cumulative 4.25 ERA, good for a solid but underwhelming...

Amazin’ Avenue Audio (The Show): St. Lucie Awaits

This week, Brian and Chris take the pulse of the team ahead of Spring Training Games starting. 

Welcome to Amazin’ Avenue Audio (The Show), the new/old favorite from Amazin’ Avenue editors Chris McShane and Brian Salvatore.

This week on the podcast, Chris and Brian discuss their looming trip to Port St. Lucie and talk about where their expectations are for the team going into Spring Training.

Other topics discussed include: players in the best shape of their lives, core strength, the...

Season Review: Brandon Nimmo

Noah K. Murray-USA TODAY Sports

A neck issue prevented him from contributing for most of 2019, but make no mistake, Nimmo is very good.

There’s no good reason why people should continue to argue that Brandon Nimmo is nothing more than a fourth outfielder. However, they sure love to try. It’s becoming something of a running joke—not a funny one, mind you—on Mets Twitter, and it’s something I’m here to stop.

Admittedly, Nimmo’s injury-shortened 2019 season was something of a...

Mets Morning News for February 20, 2020

Jim Rassol-USA TODAY Sports

Your Thursday morning dose of New York Mets and MLB news, notes, and links.

The Mets set their rotation to open Grapefruit League action this weekend.

Seth Lugo remains unconcerned about his broken pinky toe.

Dellin Betances is looking forward to a fresh start in Queens.

Steven Matz is no longer guaranteed a spot in the rotation but he is taking the same approach to spring that he always does.

All the projections seem to like the Mets this year,...

With the proposed new playoff format, baseball is once again devising a solution in search of a problem

Photo by Alex Trautwig/MLB Photos via Getty Images

The proposed changes to the playoff structure are not only unlikely to attract new fans to the game, they are also bound to alienate some of its existing fans without fixing the game’s real problems.

Between teams parting ways with their franchise players, the proposed contraction of a substantial portion of minor league teams, and the continued fallout from the sign-stealing scandal that has rocked the sport, it has been a turbulent...

Pete Alonso can cement his status as David Wright’s heir with a stellar sophomore season

Aaron Doster-USA TODAY Sports

The reigning Rookie of the Year will look to continue to be a force in the Mets’ lineup and clubhouse, just like the Captain was.

On September 29, 2018, David Wright played his final major league game, and an era was brought to an end for the Mets. On March 28, 2019, Pete Alonso made his major league debut, and a new era began for them.

It may be difficult to remember now, but there was no guarantee that Alonso would be in the lineup on Opening Day last...