Your Tuesday morning dose of New York Mets and Major League Baseball news, notes, and links.
Meet the Mets
Zack Wheeler's first official spring start was, well, not very good but Wheeler is happy despite allowing a bunch of runs yesterday.
Fred Wilpon spoke to Terry Collins for close to a half hour after the game, reviewing the team's roster. One area the Mets may need help with is lefty relief as Josh Edgin's velocity is down again.
Lucas Duda is on the mend after taking 40 swings in batting practice with no issue. He and Travis d'Arnaud should be back in the lineup soon, though Brandon Nimmo has a swollen thumb and could be sidelined a bit longer.
Jon Niese struggled in his third inning on Sunday but the Mets lefty appears to be healthy and that's what is most important.
Wilmer Flores is off to a hot start at the plate and has looked alright in the field. The Mets will manage their subpar up the middle defense by using data to help influence positioning of Flores and Daniel Murphy.
Mike Barwis has helped to motivate the Mets' players who've taken part in his training sessions.
The Yu Darvish injury should persuade the Mets to keep Dillon Gee around rather than trade him.
Around the NL East
Denard Span will miss 4-6 weeks after he had surgery to repair a right core muscle injury.
Phillies' 2011 first round pick Larry Greene Jr has retired at the age of 22.
The Braves are in the mix for Cuban infielder Hector Olivera, though he could end up being too expensive.
WIth Jose Fernandez on the sidelines, Henderson Alvarez will take the Opening Day start for the Marlins.
Around the Majors
Ted Berg wrote about the many minor league ballplayers that earn less than minimum wage.
Pablo Sandoval knew he was leaving the Giants before last season even started.
Indians pitcher Gavin Floyd has more arm soreness and his start was delayed yesterday. Injuries suck.
The Rangers will announce a plan for Yu Darvish tomorrow. Again, injuries suck.
Yesterday At AA
Chris McShane is in Port St. Lucie and spoke with Mets pitching prospect Matt Bowman about sabermetrics, his reliance on stats, and his delivery.
Chris also took a number of pictures, some of which you can see in the FanShots section. Here's Noah Syndergaard!
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