The most hotly anticipated Opening Day in recent New York Mets history has finally arrived, a day that fans have had circled on their calendars ever since outfielder Juan Soto made the shocking decision to spurn the New York Yankees to head to Queens. With Soto joining Francisco Lindor and Pete Alonso in the middle of New York's order, the Amazins have as much firepower as just about anybody in the league, and an NL pennant run is most definitely on the table.
That run will begin on Thursday afternoon, when the team kicks off the 2025 regular season in Texas against the Houston Astros. Game one will offer a look at Soto and new starter Clay Holmes, but that's just the beginning of the intrigue. Here's a full breakdown of New York's lineup.
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New York Mets Opening Day lineup vs. Astros
Player | Position |
|---|---|
Francisco Lindor | SS |
Juan Soto | RF |
Pete Alonso | 1B |
Mark Vientos | 3B |
Brandon Nimmo | LF |
Starling Marte | DH |
Tyrone Taylor | CF |
Luisangel Acuña | 2B |
Luis Torrens | C |
Soto slides into the two-hole, the perfect compliment to Lindor in front of him and Alonso and Vientos behind him. Brandon Nimmo draws the start in left field, while righties Starling Marte and Tyrone Taylor get the starts at DH and in center field, respectively, with Astros lefty Framber Valdez on the mound. (Jesse Winker and Jose Siri figure to draw most of the work against righties this year.)
Beyond Soto, the real headliner is down at the No. 8 spot, where former top prospect Luisangel Acuña will serve as the team's starting second baseman. This figures to be Jeff McNeil's spot when healthy, and another former top prospect, Brett Baty, made the Opening Day roster and should start against right-handers. For now, though, the job is Acuña's, and it'll be fascinating to see what he does with it.
Luisangel Acuña gets start at second base amid reshuffled infield
Acquired from the Texas Rangers for Max Scherzer at the 2023 trade deadline, Acuña appeared to have been passed in the infield pecking order as his bat struggled to adjust to higher levels. Those questions about the bat still persist, as he posted a .654 OPS at Triple-A last year and slashed .250/.304/.269 across 56 spring training plate appearances.
But Acuña can be a sparkplug at the top or bottom of a lineup, and McNeil's injury in camp left him as the team's best available option in this spot. Baty was a revelation this spring, finally doing the damage his physical tools suggested he could, but he's never proven that he can hit lefties at the big-league level. Acuña at least has the platoon advantage, and he brings a ton of havoc on the basepaths to a Mets lineup that could use the athleticism.