PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. -- Neil Walker spent several minutes Friday morning deciding between a pair of first baseman's mitts, the newest additions to his locker. Because the Mets' everyday second baseman was not in the starting lineup, he spent time taking ground balls at first alongside Lucas Duda -- "just in case," in Walker's words.
"I might be way down the list of guys," he said of the Mets' first-base depth chart. "But I just want to make sure that I'm preparing if something does happen."
That is a lesson the Mets learned last summer, when Duda's back injury forced them to acquire an everyday first baseman, James Loney.