The Philadelphia Phillies have barely begun training camp, with position players not set to officially join pitchers and catchers until Monday's first full-squad workout, but already the rivalry in the loaded National League East is heating up. Many pundits and experts in the industry are already calling the NL East race to be the tightest of all the divisions between three teams: the Phillies, the Atlanta Braves and the New York Mets.
And one young Met is already talking trash. Twice already this spring, catcher Francisco Alvarez has told the media how stacked he thinks his team's lineup is. When he first arrived at the Mets' training facility earlier this week, he told reporters that the Mets' lineup is the best in baseball, according to the New York Post's Mike Puma.
Mets’ Alvarez gifts every NL contender early bulletin board material
“I think we are the best lineup in baseball,” Alvarez said. “We have Petey. We have a little bit of everything. We have hitting guys. We have power hitters. We have everything. We have the best lineup in baseball, so we can fight with any team.”
Players on a lot of teams will be saying similar things this spring. Perhaps they won't be quite so on the nose about it, but players on teams like the Phillies, Braves and the NL West juggernaut Los Angeles Dodgers will all believe the same thing about their respective squads.
Unfortunately for Alvarez, he didn't stop there, doubling down again the next day (subscription required).
“I think we are better than the Dodgers,” Alvarez said, per The Post's Jon Heyman.
Francisco Alvarez doubled down 😤 pic.twitter.com/a8fulwA3ed
— B/R Walk-Off (@BRWalkoff) February 13, 2025
Sure, the Mets won the offseason's biggest prize by signing generational hitter Juan Soto, and they brought back Pete Alonso after a tenuous winter of back-and-forth negotiations. And sure, he didn't mention the Phillies or Braves. But, by ranking the Mets above the Dodgers, Alvarez indirectly put his division rivals on notice.
The Phillies, stacked with veterans like first baseman Bryce Harper, shortstop Trea Turner, designated hitter Kyle Schwarber and catcher J.T. Realmuto, to name a few, aren't going to think much of a 23-year-old who has a .221 career average and .717 OPS making such claims. There's no denying the top of the Mets' order, with Francisco Lindor, Soto and Alonso, will be a tough go for opposing pitchers, but the Phillies boast just as good a lineup after finishing in the top five in .
After being eliminated by the Mets in four games in last year's NLDS, you can be sure the Phillies will have their games against the NL East rivals circled on the calendar this season. Alvarez will get his chance to put his bat where his mouth is early in the season when the Phillies visit Citi Field for three games from April 21-23.