JUPITER, Fla. -- The Mets employ one player, Marcus Semien, who has appeared in all 162 games of a season three times in his career. Pete Alonso did it the past two years for New York. Francisco Lindor has come close on several occasions.
Luis Robert Jr. will not join that list in 2026; realistically, the newest Mets outfielder won’t even come close to playing every game. That’s by design. While Mets officials aren’t putting a number goal on the amount of games Robert will play, manager Carlos Mendoza intends to give Robert regular off-days in hopes of keeping him healthy through October.
Part of that plan involved a slow Spring Training ramp-up for Robert, who became the final Mets regular to make his Grapefruit League debut in Thursday's 3-1 loss to the Cardinals at Roger Dean Chevrolet Stadium. Robert finished 1-for-3 with a 107 mph single off Michael McGreevy, playing five innings in center field.
“If we keep this guy healthy, the sky’s the limit,” Mendoza said. “We’ve seen it -- 2023 I think it was when he was healthy, he was one of the best players in the league. The tools are unbelievable -- a guy that can go get it in the outfield, he’s got speed, can steal bases, can hit it as far as anybody in the game, as well. So there’s a lot to like. We’ve just got to keep him on the field.”
In 2023, Robert was indeed one of the most productive players in baseball, making the American League All-Star team for the White Sox and finishing 12th in AL MVP voting, while appearing in 145 games. He was one of only three players to hit at least 35 homers and steal at least 20 bases that season, joining Shohei Ohtani and Ronald Acuña Jr.
But Robert has missed 114 games the past two seasons, mostly due to a variety of lower-body injuries, including hip and hamstring woes. When Mets officials traded for Robert in January, they did so in part because they believe all he needs to stay productive is health. That’s why they sat Robert down at the beginning of camp and drew up a slow progression for him, both during Spring Training and once the season begins.
Especially early this year, Mendoza will be mindful of giving Robert regular off-days; the first of them will come during a string of nine games in nine days from March 28 through April 5. On days when Robert doesn’t play, Tyrone Taylor will be available to play center, as well as whichever outfielder wins the Mets’ camp competition: Carson Benge, Mike Tauchman or MJ Melendez.
“It’s a conversation that I need to have with him after every game,” Mendoza said. “The good thing is he knows there’s a plan in place, and that we care and have the best interests for him.”
For Robert, the ramp-up is already taking place. Now that he’s a regular participant in the Grapefruit League, he will begin playing in back-to-back games “right away,” per Mendoza, suggesting that Robert should be in the lineup again on Friday. The goal is to have him ready to play consecutive nine-inning games without issue by the end of Spring Training.
For Mets officials, there’s no lingering cause for concern. Robert is, as Mendoza stressed, a “healthy player” who has not dealt with injury issues at all this spring. The organization’s goal is simply to make sure that continues.
“When I arrived here, I felt like I was 100 percent,” Robert said through an interpreter, after stepping off the field after his first game. “And right now, I still feel like I’m 100 percent.”