Keys to victory
Pitchers need to stay healthy: Certainly easier said than done, especially with a shortened spring training.
Mets starter Jacob deGrom had optimism running high early in training camp but was diagnosed with a stress reaction in his right shoulder blade, which will keep him from throwing for a month and keep him out for at least the first two months of the regular season.
DeGrom missing the second half of the 2021 season coincided with the team’s slow collapse, and the Mets can’t survive without their ace – even with Max Scherzer and
Chris Bassitt joining the rotation.
Also, Carlos Carrasco (elbow) and Taijuan Walker (knee) both had surgery in the offseason.
Making the most of the DH: The Mets stand to be one of the biggest beneficiaries of the universal designated hitter in the National League, with Dominic Smith and Robinson Cano expected to get the bulk of the atbats.
New Mets manager Buck Showalter is going to have to find a way to balance the two – as well as getting other regular players in the mix for rest days.
The last we saw him, Cano still hit right-handers well.
And despite Smith’s overall disappointing 2021 season, he had reverse splits, batting .312 against left-handers.
Winning against the lesser teams: In an ultracompetitive National League East Division, the Mets need to beat up on the Washington Nationals and Miami Marlins.
New York went 21-17 against those two division rivals (which each lost 95plus games) last season, and the Mets will need to do better than that in 2022.