HOUSTON — The most anticipated Mets season in a decade begins in the place where it all began for David Stearns, and where it all began for Clay Holmes and Juan Soto last season — Houston. A lot sure can change in a year. “You can feel the excitement for the Mets,” Holmes said Wednesday at D aikin Park. “I mean, there are definitely expectations. Sure everybody knows, the payroll and the players we have here, the talent we have here, and there’ll be things that come with that.” A year ago, the Mets didn’t face any extraordinary expectations. Coming off of a losing season with a new manager and a new president of baseball operations, little was expected other than progressing toward better days. But those better days are here, maybe a year or two ahead of schedule. Soto, one of the game’s best hitters, left the Yankees for the Mets, something that historically never happens for players of his caliber, joining a core group of players that took the Los Angeles Dodgers to six games in the NLCS last season. He joins a battle-tested group that pulled themselves out of the NL gutter last year. The Mets know how to get through hard times, and they trust that Stearns and manager Carlos Mendoza can guide them throughout. “For me personally, there’s just more familiarity with the group and with the organization, and that’s been true throughout spring training and heading into the opener,” Stearns said. “From an expectation standpoint, I know that’s a big discussion, and will continue to be, but we had pretty high internal expectations last year, and so I don’t know that from an expectation standpoint it necessarily feels all that different.” However, even Stearns can’t deny the Soto effect. The spotlight is firmly on Queens, rather than the Bronx, as the season begins. The Mets were on the cover of Sports Illustrated’s baseball preview issue and ticket sales are up from this time last year. “We know there’s more attention, so maybe from an attention standpoint, it’s a little bit different,” Stearns said. “But we expected a lot of ourselves last year, we expect a lot of ourselves this year.” The strength of the 2025 Mets is the lineup, with Soto set to hit second behind Francisco Lindor. The 26-year-old Soto made it clear to the Mets that he wanted protection in the order, and that protection comes in the form of Pete Alonso. While the Mets maintained all along that they wanted to bring back the Polar Bear, Soto helped them along. Third baseman Mark Vientos broke out in a big way last year, and the unfailingly confident third baseman is ready to show everyone that he can be a 30-homer player. But given that it’s the Mets, it’s never as straightforward as it seems. They’re limping to Opening Day missing three members of their starting rotation in Sean Manaea, Frankie Montas and Paul Blackburn, plus their starting second baseman and starting catcher. Francisco Alvarez’s hamate surgery did make way for the feel-good story of the spring, with 27-year-old Hayden Senger getting his first call to the big leagues to take his place on the roster. Senger has long been considered one of the best defensive catchers in the organization, but his lack of offense limited him. A 24th-round draft pick out of Miami (Ohio) in 2018, Senger spends his offseasons working at Whole Foods while his wife, Ryann, supports the family during baseball season as a physician’s assistant in Nashville. “She has worked for a lot of years to support me through this,” Senger said. “It kind of made it all, all worth it.” The Mets informed Senger he would be on the Opening Day roster before departing Port St. Lucie. Mendoza had catching coordinators Bob Natal and Glenn Sherlock in his office when he called in Senger, who was so overwhelmed he could barely get any words out. Senger immediately called his wife, who was in between patients, to work out the details of traveling to Houston. His parents will be in town, as well as some of his college friends, no word on his grocery store boss. “He’s probably already heard,” Senger said. “I’m sure he has, but I’ve got to get on the horn with him and see what he has to say.” Holmes was chosen as the starter for Thursday, only a year after he closed a game for the Yankees in Houston. In that season-opening four-game series, Soto was a monster at the plate, going 9-for-17 with a double, a home run, four RBI and three walks. He also made a big defensive play to bail out Holmes. Now they’re here again under far different circumstances, but with the same goal in mind: to bring a World Series title to New York City. “There’s a lot of accountability and expectation in the locker room too, and I think that’s what makes this group great,” Holmes said. “We’re able to have fun, but there’s a standard that’s been set here. It’s fun to be a part of that and ultimately, to go into the season knowing that you have a real shot to win the championship.. “It’s what you want to play for.” ...read more read less