NL East

The Mets' 2015 season is just about here and there is a lot to look forward to, as the Mets attempt to get into the postseason for the first time since 2006.

After rebuilding for much of the decade thus far, most of the Mets' young pieces are now on the major league roster, which means the team is that much closer to competing and having winning seasons.

Here are 10 reasons to be optimistic about the Mets this year.

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Opening Day is a little more than a week away, so that means it's time to recap spring training and see what we have learned from the New York Mets in the past month.

The Mets currently have the best Grapefruit League record at 16-11. Of course, these spring training games do not count at all for the regular season, but the Mets' offense has hit its stride lately, and hopefully this will carry over into the regular season, which begins on April 6.

Here are five things we have learned about the Mets in spring training.

Matt Harvey is back. That's good news for the New York Mets as they try to put together their first winning season since 2008. More than that, though, it's good news for baseball.

This winter, the Washington Nationals set themselves up to mow down any team that stands in the way of a World Series title, but now it's time for the Nats to put their $156 million where their mouth is. 

That number is Washington's total payroll obligation in 2015, according to Baseball Prospectus.

Anthony Rendon's knee injury isn't serious, they said. He's only being held out of spring training action as a precaution, they said.

Well, now they're singing a different tune. And for a Washington Nationals club that has eyes on being perhaps the elite team in Major League Baseball in 2015, that's a bummer.

Spring training is more than halfway through, and the New York Mets recently received terrible news that Zack Wheeler will undergo Tommy John surgery and miss the entire 2015 season.

This, of course, could have a big effect on the Mets' season. But the fact that the regular season is only a few weeks away doesn't mean the Mets can't make moves right now.

The Washington Nationals need Stephen Strasburg as one of the anchors of their deep rotation, but they may not have him for the time being given his latest injury.

Continue for updates.

Strasburg Suffers Sprained Ankle In Conditioning

Saturday, March 21

The Washington Nationals reported on Saturday that Strasburg suffered a sprained ankle in conditioning, and would miss his next scheduled start:

The New York Mets have already had their share of bad news this spring, so an injury to All-Star second baseman Daniel Murphy isn't what the team needs right now. Unfortunately, the human body doesn't pay attention to team needs, as Murphy has been diagnosed with a pulled hamstring. 

Continue for updates. 

The Tommy John surgery dragon just keeps blowing fire on the hopes of teams across the land. The New York Mets and Zack Wheeler are its latest victims. 

Cliff Lee has sent Ruben Amaro Jr. his much-needed wake-up call.

Now it is up to Amaro to actually wake up.