Five storylines to follow for New York Mets

Mets spring training is under way in Port St. Lucie, Fla. Here are five major storylines to follow before opening day on March 30:

1. Which young prospects will make the team?

Three top prospects are fighting to crack the opening-day roster. None is more important than catcher Francisco Alvarez. 

In 112 games between Double-A Binghamton and Triple-A Syracuse last season, Alvarez had an .885 OPS with 27 home runs and 78 RBI.

The 21-year-old must outshine recent signee Omar Narvaez and defensive specialist Tomas Nido. Alvarez is by far the Mets best offensive catcher, but he must improve defensively. Unless he has a massive spring, he probably will start the season at Syracuse.

Third baseman Brett Baty also faces an uphill battle to crack the opening-day roster. Incumbent third baseman Eduardo Escobar had a monster September last season, posting a 1.042 OPS, and hit 20 HRs overall.

Baty is the future, but if he's not ready, he also could start the season in Syracuse.

A righthanded DH, Mark Vientos is the prospect best positioned to crack the opening-day roster.

2. How will Kodai Senga adjust to American baseball?

The Mets signed Japanese phenom Senga to a five-year, $75 million contract in the offseason. The pitcher has a tremendous learning curve, adjusting to the big leagues as well as to a new country and language.

In Japan, starters typically pitch once a week. In MLB, starters pitch once every five days. In 11 seasons in Japan, Senga was 87-44 with a 2.59 ERA.

Senga, 30, decided to not play for Japan in the World Baseball Classic to focus on his transition to the big leagues.

3. Will Darin Ruf make the team?

At the trade deadline last season, the Mets dealt third baseman J.D. Davis and three prospects to San Francisco for righthanded DH Ruf. He has a career .272 career average with 39 homers against lefthanded pitching, which seemed to make him an ideal candidate to platoon with left-handed-hitting Daniel Vogelbach.

Things did not go as planned. Ruf had a horrid final two months, hitting .152 with no homers. 

It was widely expected the Mets would trade or release Ruf this offseason, but he suprisingly made it to spring training. He will battle veteran Tommy Pham and rookie Vientos for the righthanded DH role. 

4. Starling Marte’s injury status

After a broken finger sidelined him late last season, the Mets blew a big division lead to the Braves. A case could be made that Marte -- who hit .293 in 2022 -- was New York's MVP.

In early November, Marte underwent surgery to repair a core muscle. His recovery timeline is unclear. Because of the injury, the right fielder decided to not play for the Dominican Republic in the World Baseball Classic.

The Mets can't afford for Marte to be sidelined for a significant time.

5. The co-ace dynamic 

Justin Verlander, 39, and Max Scherzer, 38, played together for five seasons in Detroit, where they weren't the best of friends, but times have changed. Both have World Series rings now, and each has won three Cy Young awards. 

"I think both of us are in a great place professionally," Verlander said, per MLB.com. "We know ourselves better. We are mature men with families. To be able to have that perspective can only help the situation, move forward in this new organization together."

Few teams in MLB history have featured two first-ballot Hall of Famers at the top of their rotation. Despite their ages, both are pitching as well as ever.