After debating whether he would be better served getting regular at-bats at Triple-A Las Vegas, the Mets opted to have catcher Kevin Plawecki serve as Travis d'Arnaud 's backup at the major league level. That signals the Mets plan to give d'Arnaud at least a couple of days off a week in order to try to keep him healthy. Plawecki had held off securing a residence in New York because of the uncertainty. "I texted my wife to send out a couple of emails. Obviously I can get that going a little bit," Plawecki said about looking for a place to live in New York. "I'm just excited and ready to get the season going."

Former Milwaukee Brewers closer Jim Henderson will be in the majors for the first time since May 2014. He underwent his second shoulder surgery that August and only appeared in the minors last season. The Mets had considered waiting until the third game of the season to add Henderson in order to have an extra bench player in Kansas City. Team officials ultimately opted against it because they are unsure what they will get from Matt Harvey on Opening Day and because they had a pair of extra-inning games during the World Series against the Royals, which means Matt Reynolds is headed to Las Vegas from the get-go and is still waiting to appear in a major league game. Henderson beat out Erik Goeddel, who only returned last week from a right lat strain. Henderson said he was nervous his first few spring training appearances, but finally started letting loose about his sixth appearance. His fastball velocity has been sitting in the low 90s. "Coming into the offseason I didn't know whether I was going to be in independent ball or having any kind of contract," Henderson said. "But I knew I was going to play, and I knew I was just going to give it all I had for this next year. And I'm happy that it brought me to this point."