New York Mets

The New York Mets have a minor-league pitching prospect whose power is well beyond his years.

Mets Class A pitcher Raimon Gomez showed off his strength with a pitch that clocked in at 104.5 mph in Saturday's game for St. Lucie. Per the Associated Press, Statcast ranks it as the fastest pitch thrown during the 2025 season.

104! Gomez showing off his Hulk-like strength! pic.twitter.com/vElENf2n9t

— St. Lucie Mets (@stluciemets) April 26, 2025

The fastest pitch clocked in the majors was 103.7 mph by Oakland Athletics reliever Mason Miller.

Gomez didn't surrender a single hit over three innings of work to help lead St. Lucie to a 4-2 win over Daytona.

A 23-year-old prospect from Venezuela, Gomez spent all of 2024 on the injured list. While he's not ranked as one of the Mets' top 30 prospects by MLB.com, his development appears to be moving in a positive direction with 7.2 scoreless innings to start the 2025 campaign.

Pete Alonso is putting together one of his best stretches of baseball to start the season.

The New York Mets first baseman has six homers and 26 RBI with a .333 batting average through 27 games, recording the third-best OPS in the majors at 1.101. Per The Athletic's Will Sammon, one National League scout said he's currently in his peak form.

“Best I’ve ever seen him,” the NL Scout said. “I’ve seen the peaks of power. But those would typically come with more strikeouts, less on base. This is the complete package.”

The hot start to the year comes after an offseason in which the 30-year-old inked a two-year, $54 million deal. The contract he signed this offseason also comes with a player option next offseason, though, meaning Alonso could opt out of the deal and potentially earn a big payday in free agency.

Sammon asked several scouts whether Alonso would be worth a long-term investment, and the answers differed. While one NL scout still sees him "as a long-term concern," another believes he could have a handful of teams interested in him if he keeps up his production.

“There will be some regression, of course,” the scout said, “but if he has the kind of season it looks like he may have, it was a great strategy on his part to have the player option for Year 2, and I would think there would be some teams lining up for three or four years.”

Alonso was far from the best version of himself in 2024, but he's clearly made strides over the offseason. If he can keep playing like he has to start the year, opting out of his contract and hitting the free agent market could be the best move in 2026.

With all respect to New York's resident pair of $1 billion sluggers, Aaron Judge and Juan Soto have this all wrong.

With Soto now with the Mets on a 15-year, $765 million contract, it was supposed to be Judge—a $360 million man in his own right—who would be revealed to not be the same without his partner in crime from 2024.

After all, Soto's presence ahead of Judge in the Yankees' lineup did create more opportunities for the latter to bat with a man on base. He saw more pitches to hit accordingly, so of course he went off for a 58-homer, 144-RBI season that netted him his second American League MVP.

By now, though, you've probably heard that it's actually Soto who misses Judge. This is from-the-horse's-mouth stuff, as the first-year Met caused a minor firestorm when he lamented to Mike Puma of the New York Post that things were better for him when he had "the best hitter in baseball" looming in the on-deck circle.

Ever the statesman, Judge had the predictable response of (rightfully) praising Pete Alonso and stating Soto is "going to be just fine."

Notably, what Judge did not do was suggest that longing for the Soto-Judge duo of 2024 is mutual. Which isn't surprising, given how he's swinging the bat early in 2025.

Judge Was Already Great, But This Is Something Else

The only unremarkable number on Judge's line for the season so far is 25, which is how many games he's played in. Nope, nothing extraordinary there.

What is extraordinary is how many statistical categories in which he leads at least the American League:

• Runs: 23
• Hits: 39
• RBI: 26
• AVG: .415
• OBP: .513
• SLG: .734
• OPS: 1.247
• WAR: 2.1

Judge, who will turn 33 years old on Saturday, does not share the major league lead with nine home runs alongside Jared Soderstrom and Cal Raleigh. However, that's basically a fluke.

He had a "foul ball" at Steinbrenner Field that should have been a homer, and his 424-foot triple in Cleveland on Wednesday would have been a homer at 28 out of the league's 30 stadiums.

Judge triples to get us on the board 👊 pic.twitter.com/1ViqsbQOc6

— New York Yankees (@Yankees) April 23, 2025

There have been better 25-game starts than Judge's throughout MLB history, but to focus just on these games is to miss the point. It's not just that he's hot now, but how hot he's been for how long.

Though it was technically on May 4, 2024 that he went into slump-busting mode after beginning last season on a cool stretch, we can get a 162-game sample if we stretch the timeline back to April 24 of last year.

In this sample, he's tallied 205 hits, 62 home runs and 133 walks. The only other hitter to touch those marks in any 162-game sample is Babe Ruth.

Further, Judge has a 241 wRC+ for his last 162 games. If this was a contained 162-game season, that would sandwich in between Barry Bonds in 2002 (244) and Barry Bonds in 2001 (235) as the second-best hitting season of all time.

When a guy is actively rubbing shoulders with Ruth and Bonds, said guy is pretty much hitting as well as anyone ever has. And that is the case with Judge right now.

Why Soto Misses Judge, But Not Vice Versa

As for what's going on with Soto, it's instructive to consider the entirety of his remarks to Puma.

"I had the best hitter in baseball batting behind me," he said. "I was getting attacked and more pitches in the strike zone, less intentional walks and things like that. I was pitched differently last year."

Should Soto have let this out in public? Probably not. And yet, he's not wrong.

Technically, he is being intentionally walked more, as he already has two IBB in 25 games after drawing two in 157 games in 2024. His rate of pitches in the zone is likewise down, from 46.4 to 44.8 percent.

Yet even if this helps explain why the 26-year-old Soto has a .753 OPS with only three homers, it does not excuse it. The reality is that the Mets are paying him to be more like the guy who had a .989 OPS and 41 homers in 2024. And if another reality is that he's going to be pitched differently, well, it's on him to adjust.

As for Judge, you would expect him to also be seeing fewer pitches in the zone now Soto is gone. Yet the opposite is true. His in-zone percentage is up from 47.9 to 49.3, even as he's seeing pitches with men on base five percent less often.

This is reflective of how Judge is the one in better command of the strike zone in the early goings. He's actually expanding the zone less often than Soto, effectively forcing pitchers to get their strikes by challenging him.

The less nerdy way of putting it is that Judge is the more locked-in hitter of the two. You can certainly intuit as much from their results, but it is nonetheless noteworthy that not even MLB's modern-day Ted Williams has a sharper eye than Judge right now.

There Is the Question of How Long This Can Last

For the Mets, the bright side of Soto's season-opening slumber is a very bright side: It isn't costing them in the win column.

It is indeed impressive that they find themselves atop all of MLB with a 18-7 record even without their prized hitter behaving like, well, a prized hitter. Throw in how Sean Manaea and Frankie Montas have yet to throw a pitch on the other side of the ball, and it's even more remarkable.

It is likely inevitable Soto will get hot, if for no other reason than he usually does after April. Whereas he has a .852 OPS in April for his career, he has at least a .930 OPS in the other five months of the season.

For the Yankees, Judge's scorching bat has been the defining feature of the club's 15-10 start. Yet if not with him, specifically, there is a question of sustainability that hangs over the whole team.

Sans Gerrit Cole and Luis Gil, do the Yankees have the talent to lower the rotation's ERA from 4.43? Can they fix Devin Williams, who has a walk-fueled 7.88 ERA as their closer? And if Paul Goldschmidt (.922 OPS) and Ben Rice (1.005 OPS) cool off, do they have anyone else to help Judge carry the lineup?

And this is just the short term, of course. Frankly, there doesn't figure to be much of a long term for Judge vs. Soto discourse. When two players are seven seasonal ages apart, they're all but guaranteed to exit their primes at wildly different times.

Yet with all apologies to Mel Brooks, we're in now now. And the story of the moment is that the Mets are thriving in spite of their superstar hitter, while the Yankees are thriving very much because of their superstar hitter.

When it comes down to it, the only explanation anyone needs is also the simplest: Judge is just that good.

Stats courtesy of Baseball Reference, FanGraphs and Baseball Savant.

As the Team USA roster for the 2026 World Baseball Classic continues to take shape, a veteran slugger lobbied for a spot.

Per Tim Healey of Newsday, New York Mets first baseman Pete Alonso said he wants to make his second trip to the WBC for Team USA, though he has not yet spoken to manager Mark DeRosa about joining the team again.

Healey noted that Alonso would likely face competition from fellow first basemen Bryce Harper of the Philadelphia Phillies and Matt Olson of the Atlanta Braves.

In his last appearance in the WBC in 2023, Alonso went 2-for-14 across five games as Team USA went on to lose to Japan in the championship game. He memorably started an eighth-inning rally against Venezuela in the quarterfinals and hit an RBI single against Cuba in the semifinals.

Alonso is off to a scorching start this season, leading the Mets with a .345 batting average while adding four home runs and 19 RBI. His on-base percentage of .464 is 106 points higher than his previous career high.

"It just means he’s seeing the baseball. He’s able to recognize the spin, the pitches that are going to be in the zone, out of the zone," Mets hitting coach Eric Chavez told Anthony DiComo of MLB.com. "If he’s able to do that, everything else is going to take care of itself. The average is going to be good. It means he’s taking pitches, taking the close pitches. If you pay attention to his at-bats, just the way he is negotiating at-bats right now is, 'Whoa.'"

Alonso will look to continue his hot streak and make a good impression for DeRosa when the Mets take on the Minnesota Twins on Tuesday night.

Three New York Mets players—outfielders Juan Soto and Starling Marte and shortstop Francisco Lindor—expressed to Mike Puma of the New York Post that they would like to see their team pursue Miami Marlins starting pitcher Sandy Alcantara if he became available.

Multiple members of the Mets tell @NYPost_Mets that they would like to see the team pursue Marlins ace Sandy Alcantara if he became available via trade:

🔸 Juan Soto: "It would be one of the best trades that we could have. I know we have great pitching here, but adding a Cy… pic.twitter.com/oqZmG0ad0D

— SNY Mets (@SNY_Mets) April 2, 2025

Alcantara started against the Mets on Tuesday, earning the win after tossing five innings of two-run ball while striking out four in a 4-2 Miami victory.

The two-time All-Star, who won the 2022 National League Cy Young award, has returned to the mound this year after missing all of last season due to Tommy John surgery.

Alcantara is in the fourth season of a five-year, $56 million contract. The Marlins also hold a team option for the 2027 season.

Even though he could be under team control for three more seasons, trade rumors and speculation have persisted, in part because Miami is once again undergoing a massive rebuilding process.

"Teams are already wondering whether Alcantara will be available at the trade deadline with the Marlins far from contending and his contract running through 2026 with a club option for 2027," ESPN's Jeff Passan stated on March 5.

As Christina De Nicola of MLB.com noted, the Marlins struck an early deal last season, sending Luis Arráez to the San Diego Padres on May 4, 2024.

Regarding the possibility of another early deal this season should the right offer come along, Marlins president Peter Bendix had this to say on March 29.

“We're always open to anything that is going to make our organization better,” Bendix said. “It's unusual for there to be moves like that, right? But obviously, we're open-minded to it.”

It would probably take a lot for any team to land Alcantara, even if he did miss all of last year. At his best, he's one of the top aces in the league. If he finds anything close to his 2022 form, then he's potentially going to be one of the top players available.

Ultimately, that has to intrigue the Mets, who made a monstrous splash for Soto (15 years, $765 million) but could use more pitching help. New York already faces an uphill battle to win the pennant in a brutally tough NL featuring the Los Angeles Dodgers, San Diego Padres and Philadelphia Phillies, so adding an ace like Alcantara would be a huge help.

For now, it doesn't appear that Alcantara is going anywhere, but he's certainly a name to watch as the season continues.

The New York Mets debuted their new blue alternate road jerseys during Tuesday's 4-2 loss to the Miami Marlins.

Tonight will be the first time the Mets will be wearing their new road alternate jerseys in a regular season game 🔵 pic.twitter.com/CUKMiL7Dtm

— SNY Mets (@SNY_Mets) April 1, 2025

This comes after the Mets' updated gray road uniforms for the 2025 season were debuted by Francisco Lindor before an Opening Day matchup against the Houston Astros.

Francisco Lindor rocks the Mets' new away uniforms 😮‍💨 pic.twitter.com/pPjUU9PcLm

— SNY Mets (@SNY_Mets) March 27, 2025

The Mets officially unveiled the gray uniforms, which feature blue and orange stripes on the sleeves and collar, on March 25 at Citi Field.

An in-person look at the Mets’ 2025 primary road uniforms pic.twitter.com/uZwU98HCyF

— SNY Mets (@SNY_Mets) March 25, 2025

The same striping is also featured on the pants of the new uniform. The trim is a similar look compared to jerseys that the team wore from 1978 through 1981 (h/t SNY).

New York made several changes to its wardrobe entering the 2025 season, as the team also revealed its new blue alternate road uniforms in January.

The new Mets road alternate jerseys 🔵🟠 pic.twitter.com/3Rx2B8CN3A

— SNY Mets (@SNY_Mets) January 25, 2025

The jerseys feature an orange trim on the sleeves as well as the collar.

Lindor and the Mets will be looking to build upon a promising 2024 campaign, making a National League Championship Series appearance after ending the regular season with an 89-73 record.

The star shortstop hit .273 with 33 home runs, 39 doubles and 91 RBIs in 152 games. Lindor finished No. 2 in NL MVP voting.

He'll have some help in the Mets' lineup, with the team's front office handing four-time All-Star Juan Soto a massive 15-year contract worth $765 million in free agency. New York also brought back slugger Pete Alonso on a two-year deal.

Juan Soto wasn't sitting on his final decision for any period of time prior to the news breaking of his blockbuster deal with the New York Mets.

In an interview with ESPN's Jeff Passan, the veteran outfielder said he made up his mind on the same day his $765 million contract was reported by Passan and other insiders.

"I was in-between two teams and I was going back and forth until I said, 'Well, this is where we're gonna go,'" Soto said. "But, yeah, that same exact day was the day I said OK, I'm gonna be a Met."

The 26-year-old previously divulged on the Abriendo El Podcast (via Manny Gómez of NJ Advance Media) the Mets didn't make the most lucrative offer. According to SNY's Andy Martino, the Boston Red Sox at the very least were prepared to go higher if they thought it would've meant landing the vaunted slugger.

With Passan, Soto elaborated on his mindset when choosing between his five serious suitors.

"It was a lot of meetings, a lot of back and forth looking at the teams," he said. "What is going to be the best? Who's going to be at the top for the next 15 years? Who's going to be willing to spend money after five, six, seven, 10 years?"

Passan and colleague Buster Olney reported on the Soto sweepstakes back in December. Beyond putting an eye-watering sum on the table, the Mets emphasized the player-first culture they've maintained since Steve Cohen took over as the owner. One such example was affording the Soto family a suite at Citi Field, which was reportedly a bone of contention with the New York Yankees.

Nobody knows for sure how Soto's tenure in Queens will unfold. Fifteen years is a long time.

For now, the four-time All-Star is loving life on his new team.

The New York Mets received some unfortunate news during Spring Training and will reportedly be without catcher Francisco Alvarez for the foreseeable future.

Mark Feinsand of MLB.com reported Sunday that Alvarez suffered a fracture in the hamate bone on his left hand that requires surgery. He will miss six-to-eight weeks, which includes the start of the regular season.

Alvarez reacted to the injury with heartbreak emojis on Instagram:

Francisco Alvarez on Instagram 💔

(via franciscoalvarez.13/IG) pic.twitter.com/F4xb2Eqsg4

— SNY Mets (@SNY_Mets) March 9, 2025

The 2025 season is set to be the catcher's third full year with the Mets.

He wasted little time making a significant impact in 2023 while slashing .209/.284/.437 with 25 home runs and 63 RBI in 123 games. That type of power from a catcher is particularly valuable for teams looking to stretch their lineup, although he wasn't as much of a home-run threat in 2024.

Alvarez slashed .237/.307/.710 with 11 long balls and 47 RBI in 100 games last season and also took a step back defensively with minus-one defensive runs saved above average compared to plus-seven in 2023, per FanGraphs.

New York begins the season on March 27 against the Houston Astros, and a six-to-eight week timetable means its starting catcher likely won't be ready until late April or early May.

Luis Torrens is the other catcher listed on the team's active roster, and he would at least provide the Mets with a veteran option as they attempt to tread water without Alvarez.

Torrens has also played for the San Diego Padres, Seattle Mariners and Chicago Cubs throughout his career and appeared in 47 games for the Mets last season as Alvarez dealt with injuries. He slashed .229/.373/.665 with three home runs and 15 RBI in those 47 games.

New York could also look to sign someone to provide depth, but it is likely Torrens' job at the moment.

Juan Soto discussed his impressive spring training debut with the New York Mets on Saturday.

“It feels pretty good,” Soto said, per Jenna West of The Athletic. “It means everything that we’ve been doing is paying off.”

The star outfielder finished 1-for-2 with two RBIs, which included a solo home run in his first at-bat of the game. Soto launched a ball to deep left-center field, traveling 426 feet as it cleared the fences.

Juan Soto goes yard in his first at-bat in a @Mets uniform! #SpringTraining pic.twitter.com/yDsYWKYxh6

— MLB (@MLB) February 22, 2025

The Mets emerged with a 6-2 victory over the Houston Astros.

Expectations are high for the 26-year-old after he signed a hefty 15-year, $765 million contract with New York as a free agent on Dec. 8. It represented the richest deal in MLB history.

Soto has established himself as one of the imposing players at the plate in the majors, earning All-Star nods in each of the past four seasons to go along with his career .285/.421/.532 slash line.

He's also shown that he can stay effective beyond the regular season, owning a .927 OPS in 43 postseason games and winning a World Series title with the Washington Nationals in 2019.

Soto is coming off a strong 2024 campaign with the New York Yankees, racking up 41 homers and 31 doubles to go along with 109 RBIs. His 129 walks were also the second-most among all MLB players, only trailing former Yankees teammate Aaron Judge.

With the Mets looking to build upon their National League Championship Series appearance in 2024, they couldn't have asked for a much better start from Soto in his first spring training game.

Juan Soto's New York Mets career is off to a strong start.

In the first at-bat of his 2025 spring training debut, Soto hit a home run to left-center field that traveled 426 feet.

Juan Soto goes yard in his first at-bat in a @Mets uniform! #SpringTraining pic.twitter.com/yDsYWKYxh6

— MLB (@MLB) February 22, 2025

The solo shot gave the Mets a 1-0 lead over the Houston Astros.

New York handed Soto the largest contract in MLB history as a free agent, signing him to a 15-year deal worth $765 million on Dec. 8.

The four-time All-Star was excited to see his first spring training hit as a Met clear the fence.

"It feels pretty good," Soto told reporters. "It means everything that we've been doing is paying off. We've been working really hard this offseason to be ready each day."

"It feels pretty good. It means everything that we've been doing is paying off."

Juan Soto talks about hitting a home run in his first at-bat of the spring: pic.twitter.com/cGSEgFt8QX

— SNY (@SNYtv) February 22, 2025

The 26-year-old is coming off an impressive 2024 season with the New York Yankees. Soto hit .288 with 41 homers, 31 doubles and 109 RBIs in 157 games.

SOTO SENDS ONE INTO THE NIGHT

(via @MLB) pic.twitter.com/FtST09dj3D

— B/R Walk-Off (@BRWalkoff) September 12, 2024

He showcased his plate discipline once again with the Yankees, as his .988 OPS ranked No. 3 among all players in the majors. Soto also finished No. 3 in American League MVP voting.

The Yankees made an attempt to retain the star outfielder, with MLB.com's Mark Feinsand reporting that their final offer to him was a 16-year contract worth $760 million.

Instead, Soto chose to join a Mets team that advanced to the 2024 National League Championship Series before falling to the Los Angeles Dodgers in six games.

He'll now be part of an imposing lineup that also includes Francisco Lindor, Pete Alonso and Mark Vientos.

As the Mets attempt to contend for an NL pennant as well as a World Series title once again in 2025, Soto's first spring training appearance was a promising one.