Moving On
Morning Dose: Monday, February 16
☀️ Good Morning:
We feel good about the group we have in our clubhouse…
What happened last year is last year. We are focused on what’s ahead…
You can imagine what Pete Alonso or Brandon Nimmo or Jeff McNeil might have said had they reported to Mets camp this February instead of where they ultimately landed.
The questions Juan Soto and Francisco Lindor fielded from reporters over the weekend would have been the same.
Frankly, so would the answers.
As spring workouts formally begin, this is the time of platitudes.
The time before Grapefruit League action has begun. When watching players walk across sun-splashed parking lots is the only content fans need to get themselves excited for the upcoming season.
Whether the 2026 Mets turn into a cohesive unit and play closer to the 2024 version of the blue and orange instead of last year’s vintage remains to be seen. We can hope relationships are strengthened from adversity, while new ones blossom amid the Florida heat. It’s just impossible to know now.
🍎 WEEKEND RUNDOWN
A rundown of the key things that happened since we last spoke.
❶ Francisco Lindor arrives to camp after surgery. Despite being sidelined for the next six weeks, Lindor showed up to Clover Park on Sunday to greet his teammates and meet with reporters. “We have a lot of new faces that I want to get to know and I wanted to interact with them,” Lindor said, via the NY Post. “Just being outside with the guys … it sucks I can’t be out there doing everything they do.”
⇢ Last year’s clubhouse: “We’ve always pulled for each other,” Lindor said. “Are we all best friends? That’s not how it works in the clubhouse. But we are friends. We are good teammates. We care for each other. We love each other. We want the best for each other. We have a lot of new faces here, and guys seem like they are going to work hard and do whatever it takes to win.”
⇢ Optimistic: Lindor is optimistic he will be ready for Opening Day: “My goal is to be there. I trust the Mets staff and feel like they have dealt with it many times and they are really good.”
⇢ Bad Bunny: Lindor confirmed Bad Bunny offered to pay for his World Baseball Classic insurance premium. His insurance was originally denied because of his offseason right elbow debridement procedure. Obviously, Lindor ended up opting for surgery on his hamate bone.
❷ Juan Soto ready to move on from last year. “That’s in the past,” Soto said of any lingering clubhouse issues. “We forget about it. We focus on 2026.”
