Mets Morning News: “Freddy was pretty pumped”

Meet the Mets

Freddy Peralta, who pitched three perfect innings in the Mets’ 14-3 Grapefruit League victory over the Cardinals yesterday, was named as the Opening Day starter for the Mets. “Everybody was aware and Freddy was pretty pumped,” Carlos Mendoza said.

Speaking of Peralta, he smiled and said, “No comment” when asked if he and the Mets have engaged in extension talks.

The one lowlight of yesterday’s game was that Devin Williams gave up a home run on the very first pitch he threw in a Mets uniform—a “cutter that didn’t cut much.” Williams isn’t worried about it though. “This being my first [outing], it was kind of just fill up the strike zone with everything,” he said, “and not really worry about results.”

On the bright side, MJ Melendez continued to make his case to make the Opening Day roster with a two-home run performance yesterday.

Tim Britton of The Athletic chatted with Mets’ director of hitting Jeff Albert last week at Clover Park about the specifics of his role, his evaluation of the Mets’ offensive performance last season, and his view of the lineup entering 2026.

Robert Stock, who is currently with the Mets on a minor league deal, used AI to build a pitching analytics platform from scratch.

Daniel Murphy spoke to Mike Puma of the New York Post about whether the Dodgers are “evil,” upcoming CBA negotiations, the new look Mets, and more.

Around the National League East

Phillies manager Rob Thomson said they are “shooting for the regular build up” with Zack Wheeler, who is recovering from thoracic outlet syndrome.

Otto Kemp is doing both infield and outfield work every day at Phillies camp, trying to be prepared to be ready for whatever the team needs from him.

Theo DeRosa of MLB.com wrote about a potential return to ace form for Spencer Strider and what that would mean for the Braves this season.

Federal Baseball dives into three breakout prospects in the Nationals system.

Around Major League Baseball

Jayson Stark of The Athletic captured a lot of raw emotion as he asked Blue Jays players and leadership about life after Game 7.

Pirates prospect Konnor Griffin is trying to debut on Opening Day as a 19-year-old—something no one in baseball has done in nearly four decades.

Buster Olney of ESPN ranked baseball’s top ten at every position.

It was an easy decision for Trent Grisham to take the Yankees’ qualifying offer, writes David Lennon of Newsday.

Vuori CEO Joe Kudla and Drew Brees are among the bidders in the Padres’ sale process; they did not submit their own formal bit, as previously reported, but are looking to potentially join up with one of the other groups involved.

Yesterday at Amazin’ Avenue

Thomas Henderson and Brian Salvatore preview the seasons of two bullpen depth options for the Mets in 2026: Alex Carrillo and Matt Turner.

This Date in Mets History

Exactly six years after the Mets first acquired Dave Kingman from the San Francisco Giants, he returned to the Mets in a second stint via a trade with the Cubs for Steve Henderson that took place on this date in 1981.

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