Michael Baron, MetsBlog.com:

Luckily, Valdespin is ok – he joked with reporters about getting drilled in the groin afterwards, but getting hit there by a Justin Verlander fastball can’t be fun. He has had a very good spring, and he has shown his versatility all over the diamond to this point as well…

The good and the bad were on display for den Dekker today. He made another outstanding running catch in the outfield to save an extra-base hit, he delivered a two-run single in the eighth inning, but he struck out two more times to give him ten in 27 at-bats this spring. Yes, today the strikeouts came against Justin Verlander, but this is den Dekker’s problem and he is struggling to overcome it despite a lot of hard work. However, he potentially saved some runs with his stellar catch, and his single was even more productive – those moments far outweighed the negative ones on his day. If he can walk a little more and slice the strikeouts by even a small fraction, that along with his defensive production could make the decision academic.