Philadelphia Phillies opponent overview: New York Mets
It may not be Tebow Time just yet, but the Phillies could see the former Eagles quarterback when they play the Mets this season
Few rivalries in baseball rivaled the Phillies and the Mets during their heydays. Fans and players felt a mutual disdain towards each other, and New York’s collapse in 2007 only fueled the fire.
Fast-forward 11 years and the two franchises are on the precipice of competing for the National League East crown once again. While the Nationals appear to have the upper hand the Mets and Phillies have their young players arriving along with a mix of veterans.
New York took the season series last year 12-7 despite scoring only three more runs in those games.
Nineteen games are on the schedule between the two rivals, including the Little League Classic in Williamsport on August 19 during the Little League World Series. The final game of their first series will be featured on Facebook Watch as the first Major League Baseball game to be nationally broadcasted exclusively through streaming.
Here’s an outlook of the rivals to the north, the New York Mets.
Additions
The average age of the players added to the Mets roster this offseason is 33-years-old, certainly not the direction championship clubs are headed nowadays. If a team had signed any of these players three to five years ago it would be a blockbuster deal.
- Manager Mickey Callaway
- Adrian Gonzalez
- Todd Frazier
- Jason Vargas
- Jay Bruce
- Anthony Swarzak
With that being said the Mets did add some nice pieces regardless of their age. Frazier has a chance to stay in New York and hit 30 home runs as the everyday starter over David Wright, and Bruce brings back his pop in the middle of the lineup averaging 32 home runs a season.
Gonzalez will be a solid veteran presence on this team while Dominic Smith continues to develop into the everyday first baseman. Swarzak and Vargas stabilize the pitching staff on both ends coming off career-best seasons. Vargas led the American League with 18 wins after appearing in just 12 games the last two seasons, and Swarzak showed he can be a quality middle relief/setup pitcher when healthy with a 2.33 ERA and 91 strikeouts in 70 games.
Starting Rotation
- Jacob deGrom
- Noah Syndergaard
- Matt Harvey
- Steven Matz
- Jason Vargas
Other names to watch: Robert Gsellman, Zach Wheeler, Seth Lugo, Chris Flexen
New York went from having four young potential aces to scrapping together a starting rotation amidst injuries. Virtually every pitcher in their rotation has undergone a procedure that has brought their long-term effectiveness into question. No one has taken a bigger slide than Harvey, who went from being the Black Knight to Aquaman.
It’s still an overstocked rotation, especially with Vargas coming on through free agency.
If the Mets have anything, it’s depth when their pitchers are healthy. Gsellman and Wheeler are names to watch if the Mets are healthy and in contention with eyes on the trade market. Ultimately the season will fall on the shoulders of deGrom, Syndergaard, and Harvey under the tutelage of Callaway.
Projected Opening Day Starters
C: Travis d’Arnaud
1B: Adrian Gonzalez
2B: Asdrubal Cabrera
3B: Todd Frazier
SS: Amed Rosario
LF: Yoennis Cespedes
CF: Juan Lagares/Michael Conforto
RF: Jay Bruce
Several potential starters for the Mets are working back from injury, including one of their former top prospects Dominic Smith. Should Smith not recover from a calf injury, former Dodger Adrian Gonzalez will be the opening day starter at 35 years old.
Michael Conforto had a break out season for New York before suffering a left shoulder dislocation and posterior capsule tear. Coming off a career-season setting bests in home runs, batting average, hits, and walks Conforto looks to be a major piece of the Mets going forward. Gold Glover Juan Lagares will fill in for Conforto if he’s not fully healed, giving the Mets a solid stopgap.
Then there’s David Wright looking to come back from another major injury that forced him to miss all of last year and limit him to 75 games since 2015. Todd Frazier is the starter in New York regardless if Wright comes back, but the 35-year-old’s status is something to keep an eye on.
New York will have power in their lineup with Cespedes and Bruce reunited in the outfield after they combined to hit 53 home runs last year. Cespedes has rocked the Phillies since he defected from Cuba and made his debut in 2012 with Oakland. He’s hit 14 home runs in 36 games against Philadelphia, the second most behind Seattle with 18 in nearly half the games.
Both the Phillies and Mets rosters could look dramatically different by the end of the season depending on how their first halves play out. Either team could be buyers or sellers at the deadline with a wild card potentially on the line.
Like most teams the Phillies and Mets will rely on health and the success of their pitching staffs. If the Mets can get Matt Harvey back to his pre-injury self New York could be a scary team down the stretch.
Next: Top 10 Phillies starting and relief pitchers of the 1980's
I expect the two teams to split their season series with the Mets coming up big early and the Phillies surging in the second half.