3 American League stars we'll see at Citi Field in 2023
By Zachary Rotman
Jun 24, 2022; Anaheim, California, USA; Los Angeles Angels center fielder Mike Trout (27) celebrates / Kiyoshi Mio-USA TODAY Sports
For the first time in MLB history, all 30 teams will play one another. This means the New York Mets will be playing against the 29 other teams for at least one series in 2023 and beyond. Intradivision series' were taken away while more interleague play was added.
In the past, the Mets only had to face American League stars like Yordan Alvarez and Rafael Devers once every three seasons but with this new change they will see these superstars every season. Fortunately, they will not be playing in Flusing in 2023.
While those stars won't be making an appearance at Citi Field during the 2023 regular season, there are plenty of stars who will be.
1. American League star we'll see play the Mets at Citi Field in 2023: Mike Trout and Shohei Ohtani
The Los Angeles Angels are one of the worst teams in baseball despite having arguably the two best players in baseball on their roster. I'm pretty confident that Ohtani will be wearing another uniform come Opening Day, and think the Mets are actually a very realistic landing spot for him.
Trout on the other hand will be an Angel, and he will be making his first appearance at Citi Field since 2017. He had four hits in eight at-bats in a May weekend series including a home run and four RBI. Trout even did damage this season against the Mets, and has a career 1.617 OPS against New York, the second highest mark of any team he's played against.
The Angels make their trip to Queens from August 25-27 in what should be a very eventful weekend series.
2. American League star we'll see player the Mets at Citi Field in 2023: Jose Ramirez
Jose Ramirez is a guy I desperately wanted the Mets to acquire this offseason, but once the Guardians extended him that dream was dead. Ramirez is having his typical MVP-caliber season and has helped lead the Guardians to a potential postseason berth.
Ramirez will be joined by former Mets Amed Rosario and Andres Gimenez as the Guardians make their visit to Flushing from May 19-21. It's the Guardians first visit to Citi Field since 2019 and is the first time the Mets have played Cleveland since acquiring Francisco Lindor.
It'll be nice to see some familiar faces in Rosario and Gimenez again but Ramirez is the headliner for this team. He's a top five player in the game and should put on a show.
3. American League star we'll see play the Mets at Citi Field in 2023: Vladimir Guerrero Jr.
The Blue Jays are an exciting team to watch with guys like George Springer, Bo Bichette, and Alejandro Kirk helping lead them to a potential playoff berth. They score a lot of runs and have some high quality pitching as well.
Despite having a very well rounded team, one player sticks out to me, and that's Vladimir Guerrero Jr. Vladdy finished second in the AL MVP voting last season, and would've won it in most other years with the numbers he had. It took Ohtani's legendary season to beat him.
While Guerrero Jr. hasn't had quite the year he had last season, he's still eighth in the AL with a 143 WRC+. The Jays played in Queens last season and the Mets took two of three. The Mets were able to keep Vladdy in check as he had just three hits in 13 at bats without a home run. Hopefully they can do that again in 2023.
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