Plawecki gets start; Holland spells relief?

Kevin Plawecki has a chip on his shoulder. The catcher took issue with the people who said the Mets should go out and sign a veteran backstop. He let that motivate him and took a strong finish to the 2017 season into the winter and let it drive him. He came out and had a strong spring training, and Thursday he will make his first Opening Day start for the Mets.

“It’s awesome. It’s really, really cool. It’s special for a lot of reasons, but, you know I am just happy that I have put myself in that position,” Plawecki said after a workout at Citi Field Wednesday. “Obviously over the last few years it was not necessarily going the way I imagined first off, but to just to be able to stick to the grind and keep pushing forward and to get better on things I needed to get better on.

“To have it come full circle,” Plawecki continued, “Not that things don’t need to keep improving, I will keep doing that. But It’s definitely pretty cool.”

Mickey Callaway announced Plawecki will start over Travis d’Arnaud, the first sign that the Mets will actually follow their plan to a platoon behind the plate. Callaway said offense will determine who will play.

“I think it’s probably more of a matchup against (Cardinals starter Carlos) Martinez,” Callaway said.

Until Wednesday, however, Plawecki had been seen mostly as d’Arnaud’s backup. Close friends off the field and teammates who work well together on the field, d’Arnaud was the first one to congratulate Plawecki when the lineup was announced.

HOLLAND TALKS UNDERWAY

The Mets have had initial internal discussions about reliever Greg Holland, a free or so into spring training, I asked someone of note in the organization about the vibe in camp.

“Tremendous,” the person said. “Ding, dong, the witch is dead.”

Joke or not, the comment said a lot about the way the Collins era ended, with management stringing the manager along until the very end, refusing to go public with the impending decision to make a change while there was still time for fans to give him an ovation as thanks for his seven years, which included the 2015 World Series appearance.

And while it certainly wasn’t fair to Collins that a couple of players griped anonymously late last season about the way the clubhouse culture had deteriorated, I thought it was telling that even deGrom, one of Collins’ most vocal supporters, told agent who has yet to sign a contract. The Mets feel he would be a good fit for their bullpen, but they are not close to making a deal. The primary hold up for Holland is that he received a qualifying offer from the Rockies. With an already thin farm system, the Mets are not eager to forfeit a draft pick, which goes with signing Holland. The 32-year-old recorded 41 saves in 2017. He has a history of injury, including an ulnar collateral ligament tear in 2015 when he was with the Royals.

FIRST OF FIRSTS

Amed Rosario will have family staying all around his apartment. Brandon Nimmo’s dad, an accountant, had to take off a day during tax season. Phil Evans’ mom had to scramble to make reservations to get here Thursday. The first Opening Day is special.

“First I would like to thank God and the team for giving me the opportunity to be there on Opening Day,” said Rosario. “Yes, I am really excited, it’s very important for me.”

For Rosario, who was the Mets’ top me this winter, “we all have to get back to being on the same side, pulling in the same direction.”

The early indications are that Callaway has the personality and the presence to make sure of that.

He talked a lot about the importance of accountability, then set a tone by benching a late-arriving Dom Smith early in camp and more recently rewarding Seth Lugo for outpitching Zack Wheeler for the fifth spot in the starting rotation.

That doesn’t mean Callaway will be a great in-game manager or that he’ll be tough on Cespedes for the occasional lapse in judgment, but so far, so good.

Yes, Opening Day is here, the Mets are as healthy as you could hope, and Harvey apparently has found his old bravado. What’s not to like? prospect last spring, this was a goal he wanted to earn. After spending last spring unsure if he belonged in the big-league camp, he spent this spring proving himself as the Mets’ Opening Day shortstop.

“Now I have the confidence in myself,” Rosario said. “I have to work hard to earn my spot on the roster.” Callaway wants Rosario to keep that confidence, so he has decided to bat his pitcher eighth and give Rosario a pressure-free at-bat in the ninth spot.

VARGAS UPDATE

Lefthander Jason Vargas, who will begin the season on the disabled list as he recovers from surgery to remove the hamate bone in his right hand, threw three simulated innings with pitching coach Dave Eiland standing in the box. Vargas, who is expected to miss at least one start, threw 15 pitches an “inning” and “looked real good,” Eiland said. Vargas had a glove on the right hand, but is still not able to catch a baseball — the major impediment to him pitching in a game at this point.