PORT ST. LUCIE — After years of aspiring, the Mets last season finally closed the gap on the Braves and are on equal footing with their NL East nemesis.
Or are they?
“You feel that you are, but we didn’t win the division and they did,” Adam Ottavino said Thursday. “We still have to get over that hurdle and try to win it.”
This was about 90 minutes before a Grapefruit League game at Clover Park in which the Braves beat the Mets, 6-2. The Braves’ traveling squad included Marcell Ozuna, Vaughn Grissom and Kevin Pillar, but few other noteworthy names.
It will be a much different scene when the teams convene April 28 for the first of 13 regular-season meetings.
Each team won 101 games last regular season, with the division title decided by the Braves’ 10-9 record against the Mets. The Braves got a fifth straight NL East title, and the Mets took a wild-card berth. Ultimately, it was the division dark horse that went the farthest, with the Phillies advancing to the World Series before losing to the Astros.
The biggest lesson Mark Canha took from last season in regard to the division race was the importance of finishing strong. The Mets were 18-13 in September/October, and the Braves went 21-10 over that same stretch.
“You look at last year, we really didn’t peak at the right time,” Mark Canha said. “That is just something we need to keep in our minds and be like, ‘OK, we need to turn it up in September, because we know in our division we have got the Phillies and the Braves, and there’s no two ways about it: You have to play good baseball down the stretch.’ That’s what happened last year, and we need to be more opportunistic this year.”
The Mets rebuilt their starting rotation over the winter with Justin Verlander, Kodai Senga and Jose Quintana. The Braves’ most significant move might have been a subtraction, as Dansby Swanson signed with the Cubs for seven years and $177 million. The job now belongs to Grissom, who posted a .792 OPS in 156 plate appearances last season.
“It will be interesting to see how playing without Swanson goes, because he had not just a really good year, but outstanding,” Canha said. “He was a real force in their lineup last year, and I think that could possibly be overlooked, his impact. But they have other good hitters in their lineup, and they are going to be a tough lineup to get through.”
It’s a lineup that still includes Ronald Acuna Jr., Austin Riley, Ozzie Albies and Matt Olson, and added catcher Sean Murphy. In the rotation it’s familiar names Max Fried, Spencer Strider, Kyle Wright and Charlie Morton. The new closer is Raisel Iglesias, moving from a setup role, and the rest of the bullpen includes proven commodities such as Tyler Matzek, Collin McHugh and A.J. Minter.
“They played unbelievable baseball last year, and we’ll see what they are putting out there this year,” Ottavino said. “But it’s mostly the same team, so I am assuming they are going to be pretty good.
“They are deep. They are good at everything, and there’s a lot of youth on their team.”
Canha can’t help but envision a three-horse race for the division title that also includes the Phillies, who celebrated their NL pennant by signing Trea Turner as their new shortstop.
“Come Sept. 1, everybody is going to be pretty close, and you are going to have to play well down the stretch,” Canha said. “It’s not the type of division where one team is going to run away with it.”