MLB news: New York Mets, Carlos Correa, Houston Astros
It’s already been a busy Saturday in spring training camps in Florida and Arizona, so let’s take a look at some of the latest MLB news and notes, including some comments from Carlos Correa about the Minnesota Twins. We’ll also dive into a roster prediction for the New York Mets and a Houston Astros pitcher who is being slowed early in camp by arm soreness.
MLB news: Carlos Correa thinks Minnesota Twins can beat projections
In an article for The Athletic (subscription required), Correa says he believes the Twins can be better than the second-place projections that have been put out there for them in the American League Central. Can the Twins top the 82.5 wins that have been projected by some oddsmakers? Correa says it has a lot to do with what happens inside the clubhouse.
“It’s all going to depend on, like I said, how much the guys inside that clubhouse want it,” Correa said before talking about the importance of team health throughout the campaign.
Minnesota finished 78-84 last season and in third place in the division, going 10-20 over their final 30 games, thanks in part to injuries suffered by Byron Buxton, Tyler Mahle, and others. Only the Cincinnati Reds (9-21) has a poorer end to the campaign.
Can offseason additions such as Pablo Lopez and a healthy season for key players be the difference between missing the postseason and making it in the Twin Cities? Correa seems to think it’s possible.
You can read more of Correa’s thoughts in The Athletic article here.
New York Mets rumors: Francisco Alvarez starting season at Triple-A?
According to Mike Puma of The New York Post, there is “a strong chance” the 21-year-old Alvarez, the third-ranked prospect in all of Major League Baseball, could begin the season at Triple-A Syracuse. Starting the season there would allow Alvarez to get more at-bats with Omar Narváez and Tomás Nido projected to hold down the top two catching spots coming out of spring training.
In his article, Puma writes that Mets manager Buck Showalter is still hoping that, even though it is looking likely Alvarez won’t break camp with the Mets, the young catcher still performs at the highest level in spring training to prepare for what the Mets may need from him later in the season.
“I think he is going to approach it that way,” Showalter said. “You always want players to make you think about ‘What if?’ We look at every possible scenario, whether it’s an injury … there’s ways everybody in camp could make the club if something happened.”
Alvarez received 12 at-bats with the Mets at the end of the 2022 campaign, hitting a solo home run and striking out in four of those at-bats. He will almost certainly record more at-bats than that in 2023, but it may not start when New York opens the season in Miami against the Marlins on March 30.
You can read all of Puma’s thoughts on the Mets and Alvarez here.
Houston Astros news: Lance McCullers Jr. “temporarily” not throwing
Astros manager Dusty Baker is pulling back the reins on McCullers after the pitcher experienced some soreness in his right arm after a bullpen session on Tuesday.
Baker made it very clear to McTaggart and other reporters that the soreness wasn’t something to be alarmed about or even make a big deal about as the Astros are just beginning spring training drills in preparation for defending their World Series title. However, the 29-year-old McCullers made just eight starts last season, finally debuting on August 13 after dealing with a strained right forearm. Additionally, the last time we saw McCullers on the mound, he surrendered five home runs in 4.1 innings in Game 3 of the World Series.
While Baker is pumping the brakes on any concerns when it comes to the right-hander, there is certainly a history behind McCullers that would cause reporters and fans to raise an eyebrow about any kind of arm soreness.