🎧 House of Cards

Morning Dose: Friday, April 26

☀️ Good Morning:

After an off day on Thursday, the Metsies return to action with a three-game set against the Cardinals. We will let the podcast do most of the talking this morning, but there is a roster decision looming.

☕️ Grab your coffee for your morning dose of Mets Fix!

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🎧 Mets Fix Podcast

JB and Blake discuss the Mets’ recent West-Coast swing, whether we should be worried about the starting pitching, Francisco Álvarez’s injury, Brett Baty’s timeline and how the front office should approach the roster with J.D. Martinez returning.

Make sure you’re subscribed to the Mets Fix Podcast on your favorite platform (Apple, Spotify, SoundCloud).

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🔻 ROSTER MOVES

The Mets need to make a roster move to add J.D. Martinez to the Active Roster before tonight’s game. Who is the odd man out?

DJ Stewart?

• As we discussed yesterday and on the pod, Stewart could draw the short straw given he is the only bench piece with an option remaining.

• There’s also limited opportunities for Stewart to make an impact with Martinez in the dugout. While Stewart can technically play right field, he shouldn’t take time away in the outfield from Tyrone Taylor, leaving him to mostly a pinch-hitting role.

• What might save Stewart for the time being is the Mets’ careful approach with Martinez. Manager Carlos Mendoza already indicated he plans to ease the veteran slugger into the lineup. As a left-handed bat, Stewart provides platoon potential to Martinez until he takes over the position for good.

Zack Short?

• Short is a nice story as a Mets fan making his dream come true in Queens, but he adds little value to the roster as an extra utilityman who can’t hit.

• The Mets originally rostered him as a righty who could provide insurance at third base without requiring a ton of playing time, but that should only take him so far.

• Short would need to pass through waivers before being outrighted to the minor leagues, something the Mets were skeptical about before Opening Day, but might feel more confident in now. Either way, losing Short would not be the end of the world. They still have Jose Iglesias as veteran infield depth beyond the 40-man roster.

• Another advantage in DFAing Short would be opening a 40-man roster spot.

Joey Wendle?

• I know many Mets fans wish Wendle could be the odd man out, but don’t expect the front office to give up on his $2 million guaranteed contract this early.

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🗓️ UP NEXT: The Cardinals come to town off a much-needed series victory over the Diamondbacks. These aren’t your father’s Red Birds, arriving to Citi Field in last place (11–14), having lost five of their last seven and with local interest at an all-time low.

New York will send José Buttó (0–0, 1.65) to the hill on Friday against right-hander Miles Mikolas (1–3, 6.49). You can see the rest of the Mets’ starters below; the Cards will round out the series with Sonny Gray (2–1, 1.04) and Lance Lynn (1–0, 2.81).

The Amazins will debut their new City Connect uniforms tomorrow.

🔗 KNOW YOUR OPPONENT: Despite subpar record, Cardinals showing signs for optimism after first month, by Katie Woo, The Athletic ($)

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◾️ Michael Tonkin is sticking around New York, this time with the Yankees, who claimed him off waivers.

◾️ Pete Crow-Armstrong hit a tie-breaking two-run homer for his first major-league hit on Thursday.

◾️ Major League Baseball is bringing back Players Weekend for the first time since 2019.

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🔗 Mets celeb Seymour Weiner, age 97, has heard your jokes — and he loves them, by Will Sammon, The Athletic ($): “After Opening Day, Weiner’s daughter, Beth, wrote to the Mets thanking the club for honoring and hosting her father. Beth, who works as a psychologist and professor, expressed how much Weiner enjoyed the day. Within the note, Beth added, ‘And he has become a meme! Don’t worry. We’ve heard every joke you can imagine.’ A pleasant back and forth followed. Eventually, Beth also said, ‘If you’d ever want to use us in any ad campaign, we’d love it.’”

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