New York Mets following trend of more stars in spring training lineup

The New York Mets play a baseball game on Saturday, and the lineup indicates they are following in a recent spring training trend.

Feb 13, 2025; Port St. Lucie, FL, USA; New York Mets manager Carlos Mendoza (64) watches batting practice during Spring Training. | Jim Rassol-Imagn Images

Baseball season is officially here, and the analytical mind of New York Mets manager Carlos Mendoza may be foreshadowing the future of spring training games with Saturday's lineup.

While other teams in MLB have already begun their spring training slate of games, the Mets are set to get things rolling on Saturday. With a contest against the Houston Astros, the analytically minded Mendoza is shaking things up with far more everyday players in the lineup than you normally see to open spring training.

Read more: New York Mets lineup construction a hot topic of conversation

The Mets will have five everyday players in their lineup Saturday, those being Francisco Lindor, Juan Soto, Pete Alonso, Francisco Alvarez, and Jeff McNeil, along with a projected bench player in Luis Torrens, and Clay Holmes starting on the mound. This looks to be part of a recent trend in MLB, with more regular starters seeing playing time earlier in the year.

For the first time in 2025, the #Mets starting lineup! ⚾ pic.twitter.com/QRwB0dz2C4

— New York Mets (@Mets) February 22, 2025

This lineup shows an increase in the number of regular starters from 2024's spring opener when only Lindor, Alonso, and Vientos took part in that game. Jose Iglesias started in that game, too, though he would not break camp with the Major League club and was in Triple-A until May 31, so he would not be considered an "everyday starter."

There are differing opinions on this method of operation. Some question its merits, given the increased injury risk of more playing time to the main attractions on the team. In the Los Angeles Dodgers' spring training opener on Thursday, Bobby Miller, a pitcher who may not break camp with the Major League club, took a comebacker off the head, giving merit to the argument.

Scary moment as Bobby Miller just took a 106-mph line drive off the head

He was removed from the game but walked off under his own power

pic.twitter.com/j3N44scm6l

— Blake Harris (@BlakeHHarris) February 20, 2025

On the other hand, having more stars in the lineup for these exhibitions gives fans more reason to attend the games. Not everyone is familiar with the 48th-best prospect in the farm system and why they should care about him, but everyone is familiar with why they should care about Juan Soto or Francisco Lindor.

There is also the old adage of injuries being less prevalent as the season goes on. It is widely believed across baseball that the longer a player is on the field in a season, the less likely it is they will get injured. The body builds a callous to repeated activities, so later in seasons diving for balls in the hole does not hurt (as much), and sliding into bags is not as uncomfortable as it was at the beginning of the year.

Only time will tell if this does, in fact, benefit the team on the injury front, or if the players who are taking place in Saturday's game will be farther ahead in their preparation for the season than those who have not done so yet.

This new trend in spring training is, however, good for MLB. It will bring more eyes to the product for even these games that do not count, and will teach more people about that 48th-best prospect when he comes into the game.