Tim Britton (he/him)

Manaea on his velo: "Yeah, a little down. Mound's a little weird and just kind of that point in spring training. But I feel healthy so I'm not worried about it."

Threw a handful of cutters and more changeups than usual tonight, and was in general pleased with locating his fastball up.

Sean Manaea's first spring start lasts three innings (as planned) and 33 pitches. He allowed a solo homer to Connor Norby. His fastball sat around 87 to 89 mph for much of the night.

Dylan Ross has been optioned to Triple A. Down to 67.

Non-roster invitee Robert Stock experienced shoulder discomfort after his outing with Team Israel earlier this week. He’s out of the WBC and will get an MRI, Carlos Mendoza said.

How Kai Correa and the Mets plan to overhaul the defense, one drill at a time Correa brings a fresh mindset by creating infield drills that require quick thinking: 'What you don’t want is indecision.'

“That guy is really good. I heard a lot of really good stuff about him, but now that I’ve got him, it’s amazing to work with him.”

Can AI help your fastball? This Mets pitcher thinks so The son of an engineer created a pitching app and welcomes input from players of all ages: 'Let's do it together.'

“I’m helping point it where to go. Just give it the structure and the framework of what it should be doing, and then let it go and see what it turns out. And then feed it to other people to see how it currently works and what we can do to improve it.”

Sean Manaea will make his Grapefruit League debut tomorrow. Kodai Senga will follow with his on Saturday.

And Jorge Polanco is at 1B.

Brett Baty is starting in RF for the Mets today.

Chris Suero has been reassigned to minor-league camp. Down to 68.

Nolan McLean set to join Team USA after experiencing ‘vertigo-like symptoms’ Mets pitcher said Wednesday that his body is where it should be after he lost about five pounds in the last week.

Nolan McLean feels good to go:

www.nytimes.com/athletic/708...

Nolan McLean said he felt none of the vertigo-like symptoms he endured over the weekend during his four innings in a back-field scrimmage today. He'll meet with the training staff tomorrow but should be set to join Team USA for the WBC.

From Carlos Mendoza:

-McLean scheduled for 55-60 pitches four innings of live BP today.
-Minter throwing his first live BP of the spring.
-Luis Robert to play four innings in CF in a sim game. Robert will play sim games every other day this week before hopefully getting into real games next week.

Mets have reassigned LHP Nate Lavender to minor-league camp. They're down to 69 players in big-league camp.

Episode thumbnail for the March 2nd episode of Rates & Barrels featuring Juan Soto, Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and José Ramírez. Kent. J. Edwards/Getty Images (Soto), Mark Blinch/Getty Images (Guerrero Jr.), Griffin Quinn/Getty Images (Ramírez)

🎙️ Rates & Barrels ⚾

@timbritton.bsky.social joins to discuss the Mets' busy offseason, @mitchbannon.bsky.social drops by for Blue Jays talk, and @zackmeisel.bsky.social is here to break down the Guardians' quiet winter....

Audio: podfollow.com/rates-barrels
YouTube: www.youtube.com/c/RatesBarrels

Freddy Peralta already seems at home with the Mets. Will it be a long-term one? The righty seems like an ideal fit for an extension. But his desire for a long-term deal could present a potential roadblock.

Freddy Peralta already seems at home with the Mets. Will it be a long-term one? www.nytimes.com/athletic/708...

Mets’ director of hitting on a new hierarchy and an evolving role: Q&A with Jeff Albert Albert explains his teaching style, his view of the lineup, his thoughts on situtational hitting and more: "I can't wait."

On the Mets’ new hierarchy of hitting coaches, what they emphasize, and how it all could work:

Carlos Mendoza reflects on what he could have done differently in 2025: ‘I fell short’ Multiple team sources pointed to Mendoza’s communication as occasionally lacking in 2025, but they added that it was a fixable issue.

A candid Carlos Mendoza on the toughest days of his professional career, the lessons from 2025, and where he feels he fell short:

Carlos Mendoza reflects on what he could have done differently in 2025: ‘I fell short’ Multiple team sources pointed to Mendoza’s communication as occasionally lacking in 2025, but they added that it was a fixable issue.

A candid Carlos Mendoza on the toughest days of his professional career, the lessons from 2025, and where he feels he fell short:

Holmes said this was actually the curveball he's been working on this spring. He plans to mix it in more against lefties than a righty like Okamoto. But: "Maybe he'll tell his Japanese teammates I throw a big curveball now," Holmes joked ahead of the WBC.

3 2/3 innings and 57 pitches for Clay Holmes in Dunedin today. Allowed a two-run homer on a sweeper to Kazuma Okamoto.

This Week in Mets: Breaking down the Mets’ biggest X-factors Kodai Senga, Luis Robert Jr. and Carson Benge rank among the players whose individual performance could sway the Mets season.

This Week in Mets is back, with a look at the Mets’ many X-factors:

Mendoza on keeping Jorge Polanco healthy all season: "DH is going to be in play big-time for him." Polanco DH'd the majority of the time in Seattle last year (89 DH starts v. 43 in the field). When Polanco isn't playing 1B, Baty and Vientos are the primary options.

Justin Hagenman will start Sunday in Tampa for the Mets. Clay Holmes (with Tobias Myers behind him) will pitch Monday against Toronto.

Behind Waddell, expect to see Carl Edwards Jr., Austin Warren, Joe Jacques and Huascar Brazoban today.

Mets first lineup of the season:

2B Semien
LF Soto
3B Bichette
CF Taylor
SS Mauricio
RF Melendez
C Barnes
1B Rojas
DH Suero

SP Waddell

Four things to watch as Mets open their spring training schedule Will the Mets play better defense at the corners? Who are the breakout candidates? Spring training games could provide answers.

The Mets open their spring schedule today. Four things to keep an eye on over the next month:

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Doing a Reddit AMA this afternoon at 2 p.m. Drop your questions here: