The 2022 season is finally here and it will be an interesting one for the New York Mets. Last season’s disappointing finish led to an overhaul in the front office with Billy Eppler succeeding Zack Scott and Buck Showalter replacing Luis Rojas in the dugout. Steve Cohen also flexed his financial muscle to help the Mets make big splashes in free agency, most notably landing Max Scherzer to add a second ace to the rotation.
With Opening Day less than 24 hours away, let’s take a look at the key questions that will define the 2022 season in Flushing.
2022 Mets Season Preview Questions
1. When will Jacob deGrom return from injury?
The Mets will likely be without their ace until June while he recovers from a stress reaction in his right shoulder. Losing deGrom for any period of time hurts but if the Mets can get him back in two months there is still plenty of time for him to work with Scherzer to give them the pocket aces they were planning on this winter. Any longer delays could risk the upside of this team as an NL East contender.
2. Will Francisco Lindor improve in his second year in New York?
Lindor received a huge contract from the Mets last season and slumped mightily as he struggled to adjust to New York, notably getting into a fight with Jeff McNeil in the dugout while also creating controversy for giving a thumbs down to the fans in August. The good news is that Lindor has torn the cover off the ball in spring training, meaning that his late-season surge in September could be a sign of things to come.
3. Do the Mets have enough rotation depth?
The big reason the Mets were done in last season was due to a lack of pitching depth, leading Rojas to rely far too often on bullpen days and TBDs in the middle of the season. The Mets did build a staff with eight capable options to start the year but that depth is already being tested with deGrom out, Scherzer managing a hamstring issue and Taijuan Walker dealing with a knee injury. As long as the Mets can avoid having large swaths of their rotation land on the injured list at once it should be a win for New York.
4. What kind of difference will Buck Showalter make for the Mets?
The Mets made a big shift in their dugout by going with the proven veteran Showalter, a contrast to first-time managers Rojas and Mickey Callaway. Having Showalter around will help because he won’t be learning on the job and has experience dealing with the New York media from his days with the Yankees. Showalter’s years of experience will help him manage the bullpen and clubhouse, possibly helping the Mets earn a few more wins that they squandered due to questionable game management from first-time skippers in recent years.
5. How will the DH impact the Mets?
The biggest positive for the Mets is that the universal DH will keep their pitchers from getting injured swinging the bat, which became an issue for deGrom and Walker last season. The Mets didn’t sign a true DH over the winter so expect that spot to be rotated between the likes of JD Davis, Dominic Smith, Robinson Cano and whatever veteran needs a day off their feet.
6. Is the Mets’ lineup deep enough?
The Mets made some necessary changes to the lineup after it underachieved in 2022, letting Michael Conforto and Javier Baez walk in free agency while importing Starling Marte, Mark Canha, and Eduardo Escobar to add more balance to the order. The new-look lineup is a bit light on power and is counting on bouncebacks from Lindor and McNeil among others, so we will see if this new approach is more successful than last year’s.
7. Are there any prospects who can help in 2022?
Most fans would love to see Francisco Alvarez force his way to the majors to supplement James McCann but if all goes well that wouldn’t happen until September at the earliest. The two most likely contributors are Mark Vientos and Brett Baty, who could hit their way into the DH equation with a strong start to the season. Vientos is more likely to reach the bigs first since he is beginning 2022 in AAA while another name to watch is outfielder Khalil Lee, who could help out if the Mets have an injury in the outfield.
8. How active will the Mets be to improve their roster in-season?
Eppler already has made one trade this spring, dealing Miguel Castro to the Yankees for Joely Rodriguez to add a lefty to the bullpen, and the Mets have also strongly considered a deal that would have sent Smith to San Diego for Eric Hosmer and Chris Paddack. Since Cohen has already allowed the Mets to significantly exceed the luxury tax they will likely be eager to take a big swing to add to an area of need by the time the trade deadline rolls around.
9. Who is the X-Factor for the 2022 Mets?
The obvious answer is Lindor as the team’s highest-paid player but we will go with his longtime teammate Carlos Carrasco. The Mets got a lost year from Carrasco after a hamstring injury screwed up his 2021 campaign but Carrasco is a former AL Wins leader who has performed very well when he has been able to stay healthy. Getting quality innings from Carrasco in 2022 would be huge since the Mets already are dealing with health questions about three of their starting pitchers.
10. Will the Mets make the playoffs?
The addition of the sixth playoff team should only help the Mets, who would have reached the postseason in 2019 if the current rules were in play. The Mets are a deeper and more versatile team now, which should help them weather injuries, so if those improvements are worth 10 more wins it should easily result in a Wild Card berth. Any higher aspirations will likely be achieved if deGrom is able to return quickly and the rest of the team manages to stay relatively healthy over the course of the season.
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