NY Mets, in a new baseball world, begin Spring Training 2.0 at Citi Field

NEW YORK — Wilson Ramos is all alone in New York. 

He and his wife, Yely, have three young kids — the youngest of which was born around six months ago. And as baseball’s restart came into focus, it didn’t make sense for Ramos’ family to join him here for a few months. 

They have a pool at their South Florida home and a nearby park. Ramos thought it would be better for his children to enjoy themselves there rather than here. 

“I prefer they stay there and be at home,” Ramos said on a Zoom call following Friday’s morning workout. “I know they’re safe because all of those months we stayed at home, we took care of them, and now I’m here. I have to take care of myself, and I’m 100 percent sure my wife will take care of them.” 

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These are unprecedented times for everyone, especially the players. By playing, they could be putting sons, daughters, wives, mothers and fathers at risk. Some, like Ramos, are leaving their families for months. 

None of the New York Mets players have opted out this season. But many were certainly forced to ponder the reality of playing a baseball season during a pandemic. 

“It’s hard right now to be here, but at the same time, I’m very happy to be here doing what we love to do,” Ramos said. “Miss this, miss being in the field. It’s hard to hear about all the news about what the virus is (doing in the country). But it’s something that we can fight against. If we follow all the protocols and everything, we will be safe and we will be able to play.” 

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Baseball in the new world

The Mets on Friday opened summer camp — or spring training, or spring training 2.0, or whatever you want to call it. It looked much different than a typical spring camp. 

At an empty Citi Field, the club held staggered workouts. The first began at 9 a.m., the second at 2 p.m., and the third was at 7 p.m. Each featured socially distanced players who were hardly near one another because the workout groups were so small. 

The Mets maximized their ballpark space, too. 

They converted the Honda clubhouse (under the right-field seats) to an extension of the gym, and it featured a stationary bike, workout bands and more. They used both the home and visiting gyms. Pitchers threw off the home and visiting bullpen mounds, and the team set up one artificial mound in front of the right-center field fence and one directly behind it. 

Before the first workout, manager Luis Rojas addressed the team virtually. It’s part of a new normal, which affects everything from communication to the on-field baseball activity. 

The Mets have educated players and staff on the screening process that takes place upon arriving to the ballpark. On Friday, players learned more about the methods used to fulfill social distancing measures during workouts. But eventually, Rojas said it felt normal once players began batting practice and bullpen sessions. 

“Just excited to see the ball coming off the bat,” Rojas said. 

The crack of the bat and pop of the glove are nice, but reality remains: COVID-19 is still the enemy. We haven’t defeated it — just look at Florida, Arizona and Texas. It persists, and playing a baseball season amidst a pandemic is a challenge. 

That’s why MLB implemented many health-and-safety measures. 

“It’s very difficult,” Ramos said about following all of those. “If we respect the rules and all the protocols, it’s good for us, to keep us safe. I’m good with that. All the things they do before we get into the stadium, I’m good with that. We want to be healthy. If they protect us, we will be good. I’m good with following all those rules.”

Edwin Diaz is in a similar situation as Ramos. Diaz left his family in Puerto Rico. Fortunately, they've remained healthy through this, so Diaz and his family collectively decided they would stay there while he played this season. 

On Friday, Diaz participated with the second workout group. It felt different to be spaced out, he said, but he understood it was for the players' safety. 

“I think during this pandemic, the one thing that I’ve learned and that I’ve taken is just to actually follow the rules," Diaz said through interpreter Alan Suriel. "To wear my mask, to actually take precaution whenever I go out. When I was in Puerto Rico, I was doing it and my whole family was doing the same, so luckily none of us got sick. Since I’ve gotten here, I’ve been doing the same thing."

As soon as Ramos hit the field in the morning, it felt like normal. Baseball was back. He and his teammates were finally here, ready to prepare for a season. 

But no one can deny concern about the reason that halted the 2020 season in the first place. 

“I think we have to be alert with everything,” Ramos said. 

COVID-19 issues

Rojas said he had not received notice of any Mets player who had suffered baseball injuries.

But he said the organization will not comment on non-baseball medical issues, so it’s unclear if any Mets have tested positive for COVID-19. 

MLB on Friday also announced preliminary results from its intake screening. There were 38 positive COVID-19 tests — 31 players, seven staff members. There was a 1.2 percent positive rate (3,185 total samples).

Yoenis Céspedes update

Rojas said Yoenis Céspedes used the time off to continue his running progression from spring training. It seems unclear where he’s at right now, though.

“We’ll need to reassess with the performance staff to see where he’s at in that area,” Rojas said. “So we’ll see in the upcoming days in camp, when we start ramping it up more and we get involved into the bases and all that where he is as far as that.”

Lowrie a big question 

Jed Lowrie participated in workouts — with a brace on his left leg — but his progress is unclear.

On Monday, general manager Brodie Van Wagenen said the club hopes Lowrie can transition out of the bulky knee brace, which he also wore in spring training. Rojas had no further update.

Rojas' comments:

"Jed, right now, he hasn’t played in a while. He was in that knee brace and he was testing it throughout camp. We're going to bring him back. He's here. Once again, we're going to see how his progression is. That’s something I need to reassess as well with the performance staff to see where he is.

"The knee brace was his limitation as far as getting comfortable throughout practice, to see if he can wear it in games. That was the question when we were going through camp and what we need to reassess with the performance staff here as far as his baseball activity."

Diaz wants to close

During spring training in Florida, Diaz said he was treating camp as if he would be the Mets' closer. 

Months later, that hasn't changed.

"My mentality has always been that I am the closer, despite even what happened last year," he said. "This last offseason, I went in and I trained hard. I worked on different things that gave me the confidence to make me feel that I could be the closer of this team. So now going into this second spring training, I’m going to try to prove during these next two to three weeks that I can be the closer of this team."

When Diaz returned to Puerto Rico when coronavirus delayed the season, he didn't have a stadium in which to throw. He instead worked out in his pool and big backyard. 

After a week or so, he found a stadium. He'd throw around two to three bullpens per week, then began throwing one bullpen and one live batting practice per week. 

He mainly faced minor leaguers, including Kennys Vargas, who played in the Twins organization and in Japan. 

Roll call

Many of the fan-favorites participated in the final workout of the day. 

Yoenis Céspedes arrived and joined Pete Alonso, Jeff McNeil, Robinson Canó, Michael Conforto, J.D. Davis, Dominic Smith and others in the evening. Others in that group: Eduardo Nuñez, Matt Adams, Andrés Gimenez, Luis Guillorme, Jake Marisnick. 

It seemed most of the Mets participated on Friday, though it was admittedly difficult to keep track considering writers were confined to the press box and players worked out all over the ballpark. 

Closer look at the pitchers

Dellin Betances, who was out almost all of last season due to injuries, reported feeling well during his workout, Rojas said. He threw on Friday, and Rojas watched from behind the catcher.

“You see that monster on the mound,” Rojas said; “you can see why that strikeout ratio is so high with him.”

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Of ace Jacob deGrom, who also threw Friday, Rojas said: “He looked almost in midseason form there."

Seth Lugo, Jeurys Familia and Drew Smith (coming back from Tommy John surgery) all threw in Friday’s morning session.

Justin Toscano is the Mets beat writer for NorthJersey.com. For unlimited access to all Mets analysis, news, trades and more, please subscribe today and download our app.

Email: toscanoj@northjersey.com Twitter: @justinctoscano