PORT ST. LUCIE — The Mets now find themselves in a precarious spot when it comes to shortstop. Infielder Nick Madrigal left a Grapefruit League game with a dislocated shoulder Saturday afternoon, leaving the team thin at the middle infield.
The leading candidate for the utility bench role, the Mets have been giving Madrigal reps at shortstop this spring. Playing the position for the first time in a Grapefruit League game, he charged a slow rolling ground ball to try to get the runner at first base in a split-squad game against the St. Louis Cardinals in Jupiter. He flew forward, landing with both arms outstretched in front of him, damaging his shoulder in the process.
The Mets don’t have a timeline yet, with Madrigal set to undergo imaging Monday.
That leaves Brett Baty, Luisangel Acuña and Donnie Walton to compete for the utility infield role. Madrigal was a stop-gap player the Mets were hoping to use until Acuña became a viable option. Acuña, who will be 23 in March, was impressive in a 14-game sample size last fall and the Mets carried him on the postseason roster with Jeff McNeil injured until the NLCS.
However, the team has acknowledged that carrying a burgeoning big leaguer without playing him every day could be detrimental to his development. Acuña got only 40 plate appearances in the big leagues last season, which is not nearly enough to be able to determine whether or not he can hit at a higher level consistently. He also struggled in Triple-A, so it’s tough to know what to expect from him.
Baty has been taking ground balls at shortstop this spring, but the Mets are not yet ready to have him play the position in Grapefruit League games. An injury to Madrigal doesn’t change that.
“We’re not going to put Brett Baty in a position where he’s not comfortable,” said manager Carlos Mendoza. “I think it’s what’s best, not only for our team, but for the player as well. We told him out of the gate that it was two positions, third and second, he will continue to get reps there, and then we’ll see what we’ve got.”
Walton is a 30-year-old who has played 70 Major League games with the Seattle Mariners and San Francisco Giants. He’s played plenty of shortstop, but he hasn’t hit at the big-league level (.174 average in 207 plate appearances).
Jose Iglesias is still available as a free agent. This could push the Mets to reunite with “Candelita,” but president of baseball operations David Stearns previously said he didn’t want to have to freeze his roster with the addition of a veteran like Iglesias who will want playing time.
KRANICK’S KONVERSION
Right-hander Max Kranick pitched two scoreless innings as the starter in a 1-1 tie with the Miami Marlins at Clover Park. He allowed three hits and struck out one, facing seven total batters. The Mets are converting him to a long relief role to add depth at the Triple-A level, but he could compete for a spot on the Opening Day roster if he pitches well.
Kranick was initially slotted as a starter last season, his first since Tommy John surgery, but a hamstring injury limited him in the early part of 2024. After eight starts, four of which were rehab starts with Low-A St. Lucie and Double-A Binghamton, the Mets put Kranick in the bullpen, a decision the 27-year-old lifelong Mets fan wasn’t necessarily happy about.
“I’ll be honest, I wasn’t thrilled about it,” Kranick said. “But it just kind of was what it was. You suck it up, put the ego aside and kind of go to work.”
The results didn’t come immediately but he put together a plan with Syracuse pitching coach Grayson Crawford that he liked and trusted the process. Finally, he saw results in August.
This spring, he’s been following around Reed Garrett and Jose Butto, two multi-inning relievers to see how they work and to get advice.
Kranick touched 97 on Sunday with his fastball. His focus over the winter was two-strike execution, and he’s carried that over into spring. He throws a lot of strikes to begin with, but he’s found that sometimes he needs to sequence differently and throw more balls to set up his off-speed.
“It’s kind of weird saying it, but I think I need to throw some more balls sometimes,” he said. “Depending on which guys are in there, early in counts, if I’m getting ambushed, things like that. So just knowing when to expand and knowing when to pitch backwards.”
GUEST INSTRUCTORS
The Mets brought in Johan Santana over the weekend and will see some familiar faces next, with Carlos Beltran, Darryl Strawberry, John Franco and potentially David Wright coming through camp in uniform.
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