The box score screamed February baseball, and yeah, it felt like it too. The New York Mets rolled out a lineup packed with recognizable names Saturday in Port St. Lucie, then proceeded to hit like they’d just met each other in the parking lot five minutes before first pitch. A 2–1 loss to the Miami Marlins at Clover Park isn’t some catastrophe, but it did offer a reminder: there is some rust to shake.
Two hits. That’s it. One from Kevin Villavicencio, one from Austin Barnes, and a whole lot of uncomfortable swings in between. When a group featuring Juan Soto, Marcus Semien, Bo Bichette, Tyrone Taylor, Ronny Mauricio, and MJ Melendez goes 0-for-12, you don’t need a Statcast breakdown to know the timing’s off.
Prospect AJ Ewing drove in the Mets’ only run with a sacrifice fly.
Rust Is Real, Even for Stars
Spring training openers lie to us every year, but they also tell tiny truths if you squint. Soto still needs some time to find his best swing. The same goes for Semien, Bichette, and the rest.
Bichette also showed that third base is still a work in progress for him. Luckily, he still has time, and the Mets have some of the best infield specialists and instructors in the game.
Footwork around the bag, angles charging bunts, that slow roller where instincts matter more than arm strength — those plays don’t magically click because camp started.
Still, if there was one area that actually looked crisp, it was the pitching. Brandon Waddell gave the Mets exactly what you want from a spring opener: two innings, no hits, no walks, three strikeouts, and the quiet confidence of a guy who knows this is his window to stick. Efficient. Clean. No drama.
Carl Edwards Jr. got tagged with the loss, though calling it damage feels generous. One unearned run across two innings isn’t exactly a meltdown, and he punched out two while he was at it. Huascar Brazoban followed with a tidy inning of his own, and the bullpen as a whole did its job; the Mets staff allowed just two runs total, which should win you plenty of games once the bats wake up.
This Lineup Isn’t Built to Be Quiet
That’s the thing about this Mets roster. It isn’t designed for 2–1 losses in which the offense disappears into the Florida humidity. Soto posted a .396 on-base percentage last season. Semien struggled a bit last season, but should be a good bet for 20 homers. Bichette is easily a .290 hitter with gap power.
Teams with that kind of offensive backbone don’t stay silent for long. They might look disjointed in the first game, sure. They don’t stay that way into April.
Sunday’s trip to Tampa to face the New York Yankees at George Steinbrenner Field should feel livelier just by nature of the matchup. Subway Series energy has a funny way of speeding up spring intensity, even when the games technically don’t count.
Justin Hagenman gets the ball for the Mets, with Luis Gil throwing for the Yankees, and honestly, the result barely matters. What matters is whether the Mets’ hitters start looking less like strangers and more like a lineup.
Because once that happens, these sleepy February losses stop feeling like harmless tune-ups and start feeling like the calm before a very loud storm.
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