Today's NY Back Pages and Mets Headlines: 3/19/2026

 

Good Morning. Born Today Richie Ashburn. Happy Birthday Jose Butto and Mike Vasil.

Section Links: Mets Links, MLB Links, and This Day in Mets History 

Mets Links: 

Press Release: 11 Members of the 2025 Rumble Ponies Selected to Mets’ 2026 Spring Breakout Official Roster

Mets Prospects take on the Tamp Bay Rays Prospects in the Spring Breakout Game at 7PM.

Here is the roster for tonight's game: 

Pitchers: Juan Arnaud, Hoss Brewer, Nicolas Carreño, Saúl García, Cristofer Gómez, Douglas Orellana, Jonathan Santucci, Ben Simon, Jack Wenninger.

Catchers: Daiverson Gutierrez, Chris Suero, Julio Zayas.

Infielders: Yunior Amparo, Ryan Clifford, Randy Guzman, Yonatan Henríquez, Antonio Jimenez, Elian Peña, Jacob Reimer, D’Andre Smith, Marco Vargas, Mitch Voit. 

Outfielders: A.J. Ewing, Nick Morabito, Eli Serrano III.

In the regular Spring Training game the Mets head to West Palm Beach to play the Astros at 6 PM tonight with Kodai Senga on the mound.  In 2 games, 5.2 innings, this Spring Senga has a 3.18 ERA with 7 Ks.

Mets.com: Prospects we're excited to watch in Spring Breakout -- one from each team. For the Mets it is A.J. Ewing - "He’ll be New York’s lone Top 100 prospect in their Breakout game against the Rays, and if he continues to show the same skill set -- along with his impressive defense in center -- the calls for him to head to Queens in 2026 will only grow louder."

MLB.com: Next flurry of Mets pitching prospects on cusp of impactful leap. "While that trio of McLean, Tong and Sproat made the Majors in 2025, the next tier should be lying in wait just beneath them this summer. That’s Jack Wenninger (No. 7 on the Mets’ Top 30 prospects list), Jonathan Santucci (No. 10), Will Watson (No. 11) and Zach Thornton (No. 15)."

Newsday: Ten Mets who made their MLB debuts on Opening Day. Pete Alonso, Andres Gimenez and Kaz Matsui are the biggest names to get mentioned. 

 Abbey Mastracco NY Daily News: What the Mets can take away from the World Baseball Classic. About Nolan McLean pitching the championship game Abbey says: "this game was an opportunity for him to pitch in a championship atmosphere as a professional. The Oklahoma State product had to navigate a lineup and execute his game plan in front of a rowdy crowd that was largely made up of fans rooting for the opposing team."

New York Post:

• Austin Barnes hoping to keep career going a little longer — and be part of something special with Mets 
• The three roster questions Mets still face with Opening Day drawing near  Mike Puma thinks whether or not Carson Benge makes the team, who backs up Lindor at shortstop (Ronny Mauricio or Vidal Bruján) and the final bullpen spot (Lefties Bryan Hudson and Richard Lovelady or  Craig Kimbrel).

Metsmerized Online

• What’s New at Citi Field in 2026
• Bichette Breaks Out, Homers, Drives in Five
• Manaea Perfect, But Velocity Still Down
• McLean Rebounds With Solid Outing in WBC Finale

Amazin' Avenue

• 2026 Mets King of Spring Training, third update
• Francisco Alvarez could finally put it all together in 2026

Rising Apple Feed

• NY Mets prospect stolen from the Yankees is already ranking higher than Elian Pena
• How Tobias Myers is refreshingly different from so many other NY Mets pitcher finds
• Top 100 prospect list from 4 years ago offers NY Mets no Ronny Mauricio conclusion

Mets360

• Wednesday catch-all thread (3/18/26)

kinerskorner.com

• Come for the Met Game, Stay for the Brisket: Citi Field 2026 Preview
• The 2026 Mets Prediction Series: Mark Vientos

Mack's Mets

• RVH – The Blueprint for 93: Part IV – The Run Creation Model
• Tom Brennan: Lean, Mean, McLean Fighting Machine; They Named a City After Orlando Cepeda
• Reese Kaplan -- The Final Roster Cuts Won't Be Easy to Make

On Baseball Night in New York, @JimDuquetteGM breaks down Nolan McLean's outing in the WBC Final pic.twitter.com/x6H9Er9MLm

— SNY Mets (@SNY_Mets) March 18, 2026

MLB Links:

• AP Sports Via the Winnipeg Free Press
• Shohei Ohtani throws 4 1/3 scoreless innings in spring debut on mound for the Los Angeles Dodgers
• Brewers left-hander Kyle Harrison leaves game with blister on his finger
• Barger homers in Toronto Blue Jays’ 3-2 pre-season loss to Baltimore Orioles
• Mariners shortstop J.P. Crawford receives cortisone shot in his shoulder
• Gerrit Cole pitches scoreless inning in first spring training appearance since Tommy John surgery
• Blue Jays starter Jose Berrios won’t be ready for Opening Day due to stress fracture
• Blue Jays pitcher José Berríos will miss start of season due to stress fracture in his elbow
• Dodgers’ Roki Sasaki has another erratic outing as he tries to earn role in starting rotation
• Tommy Kahnle agrees to minor league contract with Red Sox, AP source says
• Shohei Ohtani will return to mound for Dodgers in spring training game Wednesday against Giants

MLB Trade Rumors

• Twins Shopping Alex Jackson
• MLB Mailbag: Mets, Reds, Skenes, Braves
• Latest On Royals’ Rotation
• Dodgers Select Santiago Espinal
• Albert Suárez Has Opt-Out In Deal With Orioles
• Nationals Option Harry Ford
• Red Sox, Tommy Kahnle Agree To Minor League Deal
• Poll: How Will The Marlins Round Out Their Rotation?
• Rays Notes: Melton, Williams, Woodford
• José Berríos Diagnosed With Stress Fracture In Elbow
• Williamson, Lowder, Burns Make Reds’ Roster
• MLBTR Podcast: Banged-Up Reds And Braves, Kevin McGonigle, And Spring Breakouts
• The Opener: Crawford, Cole, White Sox
• 33 Veterans With Looming Opt-Out Dates
• Rockies Notes: Rotation, Gordon, Amador

www.espn.com - MLB

• 'I'm a sucker for a challenge': Why Moneyball pioneer chose to take on Coors Field
• Ohtani fans 4, hits 99 mph in spring mound debut
• Durbin wins 3B job for Red Sox; Mayer likely 2B
• Cole throws scoreless inning in his spring debut
• Jays' Berríos won't be ready for start of season

CBS Sports Headlines

• MLB commissioner Rob Manfred teases possible schedule change for the next World Baseball Classic
• MLB futures odds: Expert highlights best bet, longshot and pitcher to fade for AL, NL Cy Young Awards in 2026
• How Yankees ace Gerrit Cole fared in first spring training start since Tommy John surgery
• MLB MVP predictions for 2026: Best bets and longshots for AL and NL
• 2026 MLB Opening Day starter tracker: See every team's starting pitcher for Game 1

FanGraphs Baseball

• 2026 Positional Power Rankings: Third Base
• White Sox Ride the Catching Carousel
• 2026 Positional Power Rankings: Shortstop
• Houston Astros Top 30 Prospects

Today in Mets History: 

Born on this date:

• Richie Ashburn (1927)
• Don Rose (1947)
• Tim Corcoran (1953)
• Jose Butto (1998)
• Mike Vasil (2000)

Transactions:

Chicago Cubs signed Jonathan Villar of the New York Mets as a free agent on March 19, 2022.

Baseball Reference:

1999 - The career of New York Mets pitcher Paul Wilson is derailed again when he suffers a partially torn ligament in his pitching elbow while warming up before a three-inning stint in a minor league game. An MRI will show a partial tear of a ligament in his elbow, and on March 30th he will undergo Tommy John surgery which will sideline him for the year.

2012 - New York Mets owners Fred Wilpon and Saul Katz, facing a $300 million lawsuit, agree to pay $162 million into a trust fund for victims of Bernard Madoff's fraudulent investment scheme, thus averting a trial. The payoff is because the Mets were among the few investors who made money out of their investments in Madoff's fund, while thousands of smaller investors lost everything when the whole house of cards collapsed in 2009. Wilpon and Katz will put up $29 million of their own money in the settlement.

Here is what Dave Rubin of Mack’s Mets said about the settlement.