Frazier ready to take the leadoff
PORT ST. LUCIE — First things first, Todd Frazier indicated that the Mets haven’t discussed with him the possibility of being used out of the leadoff spot this season — but he’s open to it. “I’ll talk with Mickey and them and see what they want,” Frazier said, referring to manager Mickey Callaway. “Whatever they need.” The Mets are considering him among their options with Michael Conforto sidelined to open the 2018 campaign. New hitting coach Pat Roessler included Frazier in his list of possibilities to bat atop the lineup following the third baseman’s arrival to camp on Friday. “We’ve got to talk about all of that,” said Roessler, who was the assistant hitting coach last season under the since-departed Kevin Long. “We’ve got some quality guys that may be on our bench. There are going to be some guys getting days off, so I think the lineup is going to be a little bit fluid at times. “Is it Jose Reyes? Is it (Brandon) Nimmo? Is it Frazier? Is it (Asdrubal) Cabrera? Who is it? We’ve got to get some people on base in front of those big boys, so we can do damage. Who that is? It may differ at times with who is hottest.” Frazier made his
first appearance since signing a two-year deal worth $17 million last week. He claimed he’s spoken to injured third baseman David Wright “just a little bit,” but said he’s otherwise “pretty pumped” to get started with the Mets.
“I saw what they did in (making the World Series in) 2015 and, the health, if we’re healthy, we’ve got a shot at doing that again,” Frazier said. “It feels good to say ‘we.’ That’s the type of feeling that you’ve gotta have and gotta believe in, and I’ve been watching up in Jersey some of the interviews, and articles about what our motto is and what we’re trying to do, and it’s kind of fired me up a little bit.”
SIMPLY JUAN-DERFUL
Roessler already has been impressed by Juan Lagares’ altered swing after the outfielder worked this winter on improving his launch angle.
“His swing path is a little more, I’d say he’s more in the slot, not as steep,” Roessler said. “He did hit some balls hard last year, He tends to, when his timing is off, get the ball on the ground. I think he’s got a better chance to hit the ball in the air a little more often.
“We told him the other day we don’t mind ground balls as long as the first bounce is 420 feet away. Made him chuckle a little bit. He’s made some adjustments. We have to see him take it into the games. We may have to run him out to the back field to get him some extra at-bats to get him comfortable, normal for a guy in spring training because he is trying some different stuff.”
BY THE NUMBERS
With the Mets agreeing with Jason Vargas on a $16 million deal, their much-discussed payroll is nearing the $150 million mark. The Mets were taking heat early this offseason for not spending money like a bigmarket team. They have signed deals worth slightly more than $86 million over the next two seasons.
HOUSE HUNTERS
After talking to reporters this week about wanting to find an apartment for he and best friend — and Yankee slugger — Giancarlo Stanton to share in the Big Apple, Mets reliever A.J. Ramos said he has been inundated with offers from New York City realtors on social media.
“They send me apartment listings,” Ramos said. “So many I haven’t been able to get through them.”
Ramos said he has not yet found a place to live, but has already narrowed it down to a few places that they were already in contact with before all the publicity.