Once the Mets offseason plan became clear and through spring training, a key question they faced was how to handle first base. 

The early returns have been perhaps worse than anyone could have imagined. 

Jorge Polanco, signed to a two-year, $40 million contract with the hopes that he could transition from the middle of the infield to first base, has been hurt most of the season and played poorly when on the field. 

Brett Baty, introduced to the position during spring training, has been inconsistent in the field and at the plate. He’s shown flashes of his lefty power, but ended an 0-for-10 skid going 1-for-3 in Wednesday’s 14-2 loss to Washington at Citi Field. 

And then there’s Mark Vientos, who has struggled badly on both sides of the ball, looking to recapture at least the power he displayed two years ago, which seems to be more and more of a distant memory. 

Altogether, they entered Wednesday with the fourth-worst OPS at the position this season (.581), a year after Pete Alonso helped them to the second-best OPS in the majors (.861). 

Neither has stood out defensively, either. 

And according to FanGraphs, the group has the second-lowest WAR (-0.5). 

Asked about the spot, Carlos Mendoza said the duo of Baty and Vientos has “handled the position fine,” adding Vientos has been OK defensively. 

But the manager acknowledged: “Offensively, we expect more.” 

In fairness, the lack of production has been a failure of almost the entire lineup — not just at first base. 

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But it’s felt there especially, since they had such a consistent threat at first with Alonso. 

“They took a strength and made it a weakness,’’ one National League scout said. “I think Baty can hit, but he shouldn’t be at first base. If they had just kept him at third, where he looked comfortable last year, I think he would have come on at the plate. But they’re making it harder on him, all to get another guy who’s out of position [former shortstop Bo Bichette] into the lineup.” 

With Polanco nursing both a right wrist contusion and Achilles discomfort — and considered week to week by David Stearns — the Mets figure to go with Baty and Vientos. 

“We signed Polanco to play there and he’s had health issues,’’ Mendoza said. 

This game started out like it might be something special for Jameson Taillon, but then the home-run bug bit him again.

Jamo recovered from that to throw seven strong innings and the Cubs squeaked out a 5-4 win over the Padres with some nails relief pitching from Ben Brown and Hoby Milner, winning the series and ending a road trip that has to be termed a success with a 3-3 mark against two very good NL West teams.

As they have so many times, the Cubs had plenty of baserunners early. They loaded the bases with one out in the first on a Nico Hoerner single (a popup that dropped between two Padres infielders!), another hit by Alex Bregman and a walk drawn by Ian Happ. Unfortunately, Michael Busch hit into a double play to end the inning.

The Cubs got on the board in the second. Michael Conforto hit a deep fly to center that glanced off Jackson Merrill’s glove for a double. (Yet another reminder that defense matters.) Conforto went to third on a ground out by Matt Shaw, but had to hold there when Pete Crow-Armstrong grounded to first.

Miguel Amaya’s single made it 1-0 Cubs [VIDEO].

The Cubs made it 3-0 in the fourth. With two out, Shaw dribbled a ball down the third-base line that stopped next to the base for a single.

PCA then launched this two-run homer [VIDEO].

That ball was a hanging sweeper and PCA did not miss it, homering for the second time in as many games. He seems to have finally locked in and I hope for a big homestand from him beginning Friday.

Taillon retired the first 14 Padres he faced before he, too, was victimized by a sweeper that didn’t sweep. Miguel Andujar homered to break up any thought of a no-hit or perfect game bid. Look where this pitch was!

Way above the zone and Andujar just yanked it out of the yard.

Maybe that rattled Taillon a bit, because then he walked Jake Cronenworth and Nick Castellanos, who came into this game with a .151/.196/.208 slash line, smacked his first home run of the year to tie the game.

Home runs have been an issue for Jamo this year. That’s nine home runs allowed in 34.2 innings, yikes. Nevertheless, Taillon settled down after that and retired seven of the final eight Padres he faced. Overall Taillon had a good outing — seven innings, 95 pitches (66 strikes), three hits, one walk, six strikeouts.

More on Taillon’s afternoon from BCB’s JohnW53:

Jameson Taillon is the Cubs’ third starter this season to complete seven innings. Shota Imanaga and Edward Cabrera did it against the Phillies, two days apart, April 21 and 23. Imanaga gave up one run on three hits and one walk; Cabrera, three runs (two earned) on six hits and no walks.

Taillon had pitched six innings in three previous starts.

Taillon’s longest as a Cub was eight innings, with one hit and two walks, at New York against the Yankees on July 7, 2023. He has gone 7.1 twice, both in 2024. This was his 10th of 7.0, for a total of 12 of at least 7.0, in 86 starts as a Cub.

Here’s even more on Taillon’s afternoon [VIDEO].

While Taillon was holding the Padres down after the home runs, the Cubs took the lead back. Busch led off the sixth with a walk and was forced at second by Conforto. Matt Shaw doubled, with Conforto stopping at third.

Then this happened [VIDEO].

With only one out, that’s a risky contact play. Conforto never hesitated and made a great slide under the attempted tag by Luis Campusano and the Cubs had a 4-3 lead.

That lead was increased to 5-3 when Shaw hit his third homer of the year with one out in the eighth [VIDEO].

Corbin Martin entered to throw the eighth. It did not go well. He walked the first three hitters he faced. That brought Ben Brown into the game, raising the question: Why didn’t Craig Counsell just start the inning with Brown?

Also, here’s a not-so-fun fact about Martin, from John:

Martin became just the 10th Cub since 1901 to walk the only three batters he faced.

The first four were in 1910-37, then Eddie Solomon in 1975, Chuck McElroy in 1993, Justin Berg in 2011, Steve Cishek on April 3, 2019, at Atlanta, and Dan Winkler on April 8, 2021, at Pittsburgh. The Cubs won only two of the previous games: 6-3 at Philadelphia in 1993 and 4-2 at Pittsburgh in 2021.

Fernando Tatis Jr. hit a deep fly to center field that made it 5-4. Brown then induced Manny Machado to hit into an inning-ending double play [VIDEO].

That was just about the best possible result you might expect with a reliever coming in to a bases-loaded, nobody-out situation. Brown did an excellent job here, recording the three outs on only five pitches, and he’s clearly well into Counsell’s circle of trust.

Mason Miller, who gave up two runs to the Cubs Monday night, entered to throw the ninth. This is the first time this year, in his 15th appearance, that Miller pitched when the Padres were trailing. With one out, he walked Bregman and wild-pitched him to second. But Happ struck out on an ABS challenge and Busch hit a deep fly into the gap that Merrill ran down to end the inning.

Brown stayed in to close things out. He struck out Xander Bogaerts and got Ty France to ground to third. The Padres sent Gavin Sheets up to pinch hit for Andujar, and Counsell countered with left-hander Hoby Milner. The Padres burned Sheets and sent up Ramon Laureano to bat for him.

Milner did not waste any time ending the game [VIDEO].

That is absolutely outstanding relief work from Brown and Milner, who recorded six outs in about the highest-leverage situations you can imagine, on just 14 pitches. Really good stuff — and as pointed out on the broadcast, that was just the second save of Milner’s career, the other one coming two years ago for the Brewers.

Some last notes on this big win from John:

The Cubs have won all three games this season in which their starter completed seven innings. Last year, they were just 13-10, including five straight losses and seven of eight from Aug. 2 to the end of the season.

This was just the 12th game since 1901 in which the Cubs allowed four runs on three hits. The first three were in 1914, 1944 and 1956, then there have been eight since 1987. The previous one was at home vs. the Giants on Sept. 1, 2016. That was only the second the Cubs won, both by 5-4. The first was at home vs. the Mariners in 2007.

They lost four times by 4-3, once by 4-2 and four times by 4-1.

None of the previous games were vs. the Padres.

Two of the hits were homers in one earlier game, a 4-3, 12-inning loss at home against the Phillies on Aug. 11, 2009.

The Cubs will certainly have a happy flight back to Chicago this evening and enjoy their off day at home Thursday. Then they will open a three-game series against the Diamondbacks Friday afternoon at Wrigley Field. Colin Rea will start for the Cubs. The D-backs, who have an afternoon game Thursday in Milwaukee, have not yet listed a starter but if they stay on rotation, it will likely be Zac Gallen. Game time Friday is 1:20 p.m. CT and TV coverage will be via Marquee Sports Network (and MLB Network outside the Cubs and D-backs market territories).

You can never have enough pitching.

The Royals acquired Ryan Bergert from the Padres last summer hoping he could provide additional depth to their starting rotation. He impressed with a 4.43 ERA and 39 strikeouts in 40.2 innings over eight starts, but was sent to Omaha to begin this season. He exited his third start with right elbow discomfort.

The Royals announced today that Bergert successfully underwent Tommy John surgery this week to reconstruct his right ulnar collateral ligament. The typical timeline after Tommy John surgery requires 12-16 months of recovery.

Bergert had a 3.66 ERA in 76.1 innings in his debut season last year, split between the Padres and Royals. He was acquired with pitcher Stephen Kolek for catcher Freddy Fermin last July. Kolek is currently out with an oblique injury, although he has begun a rehab assignment in Omaha.

MLB.com reporter Anne Rogers also reports that Royals pitching prospect Ben Kudrna underwent an olecranon stress fracture fixation surgery on his elbow. The typical recovery time for that injury is 3-6 months. Kudrna had a 5.30 ERA in 105.1 innings in the minors last year, and made just one start for Omaha. MLB Pipeline ranks him as the #9 prospect in the organization.

Much is made about the so-called ‘sophomore slump’ in sports — you never know how a young player will respond as their opponents do anything and everything in their power to adjust to their game. After a slow start over the first couple of weeks, Cole Young has stabilized, and then some. It’s only fitting that he provided the exclamation point to close out the first full month of the year.

Behind a pair of clutch hits from Young in the late innings, the Mariners came from behind to defeat the Twins 5-3 Wednesday to take the series and guarantee a .500 record at the end of April.

Facing a drawn-in infield, down a run with one out in the ninth, Young snuck a grounder back up the middle to score two runs and give the Mariners the lead — and it wasn’t the first time on the afternoon that he came up huge. Just two innings earlier, he drove a double into the opposite-field gap to produce a tying run with two outs. Both of the hits came with two strikes.

“When we have that type of a hitter in those kinds of situations, you feel really good about your chances,” manager Dan Wilson said about having Young near the bottom of the order. “He’s really delivered.”

Things were looking bleak at multiple points later in the game, especially with the Mariners struggling to get runners into scoring position against Twins starter Taj Bradley, who eclipsed 110 pitches over seven innings and allowed only four hits and two walks. Prior to Young’s game-tying double in the seventh, Bradley’s only run was surrendered on a solo homer by J.P. Crawford in the third.

Thanks in part to Young, however, the Mariners were able to make the most of their few scoring opportunities, going 3-for-5 with runners in scoring position.

Meanwhile, for Mariners pitching, it felt like they couldn’t catch much of a break. George Kirby worked 5.2 innings, allowing two runs on eight hits — none of which came on hard-hit balls. Balls were dropping where fielders weren’t, and soft contact wasn’t resulting in outs the way they might’ve hoped.

Despite that, Kirby nearly made it through his outing unscathed, passing the game off to the bullpen with the game in reach. His two runs allowed both came across on a weak flare by Brooks Lee that dropped in for a two-out single in the fourth.

To add injury to insult, Matt Brash left the game after throwing only two pitches to begin the bottom of the eighth. Wilson said postgame that Brash has been feeling some discomfort in his side and that he will be evaluated again tomorrow.

Gabe Speier was sprung into action as a result. He allowed a Ryan Jeffers single to center, and pinch runner James Outman was able to steal second base to move into scoring position with nobody out. Though Speier was able to strike out both Kody Clemens and Luke Keaschall to get the first two outs of the inning, pinch hitter Victor Caratini was able to slip a base hit just under a ranging Crawford’s glove to score the go-ahead run.

Needing only three outs to close the game out, the Twins called upon righty Eric Orze to face the 5-6-7 of the Mariners order. His first six pitches of the ninth were balls, and Randy Arozarena was able to work a lead-off walk as a result. After Orze bounced back to strike out Luke Raley, Dominic Canzone singled to right and move the tying run just 90 feet from home plate. Leo Rivas pinch-ran for Canzone and stole second to set up Young’s game-winning single.

Cal Raleigh tacked on another run with a sacrifice fly later in the inning, giving Andrés Muñoz some additional breathing room in the bottom half. This time, Muñoz had no problem, setting down the Twins in order to pick up his sixth save and close out a 5-1 roadtrip for the M’s.

The Mariners will return home to face the Royals for three games starting Friday night at 6:45 pm on Apple TV.

Roster moves

The Arizona Diamondbacks made the following roster moves. The D-backs’ 40-man roster is at 40.

• Recalled from Triple-A Reno: LHP Philip Abner (No. 50)
• Optioned to Reno following last night’s game: RHP Andrew Hoffmann

Probably a necessary move, simply for an extra arm. Though the chart above doesn’t necessarily show it, the D-backs bullpen has been wheezing. Jack went into more detail about that earlier today, due to a combination of short outings by starters and close contests. But it is interesting to note that Arizona are below MLB average, both in terms of bullpen innings, and batters faced. They are above the median in relief outings – but at 101, only five percent above it (96). So why is it a problem for Arizona? Part of the reason might, oddly, be the stability of the D-backs bullpen.

This is only the second “true” change to the bullpen since Opening Day, over a month ago. The first was DFA’ing Joe Ross, who was replaced by Taylor Rashi. When he was optioned to Reno to make way for the return of Merrill Kelly, Brandon Pfaadt got bumped to the bullpen. But that has been it. Consequently, Arizona has used only 11 relievers all year, and that includes James McCann. The teams atop the bullpen usage by innings, the White Sox and Nationals have also used the most relievers – a startling twenty-one already in Chicago’s case, almost twice as many as the D-backs. Arizona has been leaning heavily on the same arms since the beginning of the season.

We can see this if we look at the average number of outings per reliever. Take the total number of relief appearances, and divide by the number of relievers used. For Arizona that comes out to 9.2 games per reliever, well above the median (around 7.5). The real problem is the lack of reliable bullpen arms for Arizona. We don’t have many credible alternatives in Reno who can be rostered in and out to give others a blow. Not helping matters: as Jack notes, only Hoffman and Juan Morillo have options, so can be sent to the minors. Well, technically, Pfaadt does too, but I’d not expect him to be enjoying buffet food anytime soon.

Detroit Tigers (15-15) vs. Atlanta Braves (21-9)

Time/Place: 7:15 p.m., Truist Park
SB Nation Site: Battery Power
Media: Detroit Sportsnet, MLB.TV, Tigers Radio Network
Pitching Matchup: LHP Tarik Skubal (3-2, 2.72 ERA) vs. RHP JR Ritchie (1-0, 2.57 ERA)