PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. -- A day after Matt Harvey made his 2016 Grapefruit League debut, Jacob deGrom now makes his first appearance for the New York Mets.
DeGrom opposes right-hander Ivan Nova as the New York Yankees visit Port St. Lucie for a 1:10 p.m. ET game on Wednesday (SNY/WOR).
Curtis Granderson also is expected to appear in his first spring-training game after dealing with an eye infection for the past week.
David Wright, along with Jeff Wilpon and Sandy Alderson, are due to be away from camp on Wednesday. They plan to attend an afternoon memorial service at Citi Field for Shannon Forde, the Mets’ media relations official, who passed away Friday after a battle with breast cancer.
WEDNESDAY’S NEWS REPORTS:
Harvey allowed one run on three hits and two walks in three innings against the Atlanta Braves on Tuesday at ESPN Wide World of Sports. His fastball sat at 96 mph. On Harvey’s slider, Braves outfielder Mallex Smith said: "It was violent. It started like above my waist. And ended up in the dirt. So it is pretty nasty.” Read more from columnist David Lennon in Newsday as well as news recaps in the Post, Times, Daily News, Record, Newsday and at NJ.com and MLB.com.
Juan Lagares and Wilmer Flores combined to reach base in all six of their plate appearances but Zack Thornton allowed a pair of ninth-inning runs and the Braves rallied to beat the Mets, 5-4. Read more in Newsday and at NJ.com and MLB.com.
With Jhonny Peralta sidelined with the St. Louis Cardinals for a few months, ESPN’s Jim Bowden lists possible shortstop acquisitions including Ruben Tejada as well as Atlanta’s Erick Aybar, Philadelphia’s Freddy Galvis and Seattle’s Luis Sardinas.
Mike Piazza got a Hall of Fame tour Tuesday, including seeing where his plaque will hang. “It's a little overwhelming, actually,” Piazza tells Mark Newman at MLB.com.
Columnist Joel Sherman in the Post tries to forecast what salary commitment it would take to sign Harvey long term. Writes Sherman: “Say $12 million for 2017, then $17 million for 2018, then buy out three years of free agency with free-agent-like dollars -- $30 million annually.”
From the bloggers ... Mets Report labels it a “no-brainer” that Harvey should start on Opening Day.
BIRTHDAYS: C.J. Nitkowski turns 43. ... Bryce Beeler is 23.
TWEET OF THE DAY:
Star Tours at Hollywood Studios, Disney World with Steve Gelbs, Anthony DiComo and a Yankees writer. pic.twitter.com/lfFUo9AdHV
— Adam Rubin (@AdamRubinESPN) March 8, 2016
YOU’RE UP: What would you need to get in return to trade Tejada to the Cardinals?