Mets' new second baseman Marcus Semien is a quiet leader

PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. — Marcus Semien’s leadership isn’t loud. You can tell from the gentle timbre of his voice, and the way Mets manager Carlos Mendoza talks about his new second baseman.

But just because it isn’t flashy doesn’t mean it doesn’t exist.

“He’s a good one,” Bo Bichette said last month. “He showed me the ropes. He’s a hard worker, he’s all business, he’s a competitor, he’s a great leader. He was a great mentor for me and I’m sure that in some ways, I’ll still look up to him. I’m thrilled to be playing with him again.”

Bichette was only 23 when he played with Semien in Toronto, and it lasted only through the 2021 season, but the connection remains strong. Semien still has his eye on the shortstop-turned-third baseman, so much so that one of his first statements Saturday centered around how he could be of use.

“Now he’s a little older, more seasoned,” Semien said. “He’s learning a new position. I was in that position when I met him, too. I was learning second base. So there are things we can talk about. Yeah, it’s two different positions, but being in a new place and learning a new position can get uncomfortable at times, I’m sure.

“Because he’s such a pure hitter and a good hitter, he’s going to be one of the best hitters [regardless]. I think we’ll just talk about defense and see how well we play together.”

With Francisco Lindor out for about six weeks recovering from hamate surgery, Semien comes even more into focus. A defensively elite second baseman, he’ll have to be an anchor in an infield in which Bichette is switching from shortstop to third and Jorge Polanco is attempting to learn how to play first base.

Semien also will have to build chemistry with Lindor in absentia, at least for a little bit. Lindor is expected to report to camp soon, but he won’t be getting the stitches out of his hand for about another week. A slow ramp-up means that the middle infielders won’t be able to physically work together for a while. There are work-arounds, even if they’re far from ideal.

“That was a bummer,” Semien said of Lindor’s injury. “I was really looking forward to this time in the spring, but it doesn’t take away that he’s hopefully going to be back for Opening Day and we’ll get as many games as we can in together.

“I think communication is a big thing. We’ve already been talking this offseason about how we want to do things, and I can’t wait until he gets here to kind of talk through some things that maybe we won’t be able to work on in the spring.”

Even with that setback, Semien provides a steadying presence: He won a Gold Glove last year, recording seven outs above average — tied for second among qualified second basemen. By all accounts, he’s steady in the clubhouse, too, described as focused, professional and “a great leader,” Bichette said.

But leaders come in different flavors.

“The one thing from him is that he leads by example,” Mendoza said. “We have a bunch of leaders in that clubhouse, and he’s one of them. He’s a guy that we’re counting on, not only posting and playing and performing, but with the way he works, with the way he goes about his business. That’s the way he does it. He’s pretty quiet. He’s not a guy who’s going to be saying much.”

Semien, who served as the de facto captain during his tenure on the Rangers, agreed with his manager’s assessment. His quieter nature, though, shouldn’t be misconstrued as timidity.

“When there needs to be something said, don’t be afraid to say it but don’t force it,” Semien said. “I think that’s the thing that a lot of people may get misunderstood about a veteran leader. You can say ‘captain’ or you can say ‘a group of veteran leaders.’ I think that’s a better way to put it, where it’s like, any given day, somebody who’s kind of been through a lot in the game can say something to maybe help a young guy.

“Hey, if a young guy wants to say something, say it. We all want to be the best versions of ourselves on the field, and if everybody gets the right information out to each other, we win more games.”

It can be a difficult balance, and this year’s Mets team presents its own challenges.

While losing was the biggest issue to plague the 2025 squad, chemistry was palpably absent, and much of that fell on the leadership group.

Now the core has been gutted, and when it comes to perceived clubhouse leaders, only Lindor and Juan Soto remain of the old guard. Meshing personalities and styles in an overhauled roster is a significant hurdle, and an important one to overcome.

“Since I became a coach at this level, communication is always important,” Mendoza said, “whether you’re an established player, considered one of the leaders in the clubhouse or a guy that’s just come up to the league. You always need to have certain guys that will police some of the things that happen in there. The good thing is, we’ve got a bunch of them in there.”

Semien seems to do that by holding himself accountable first. That includes “not missing a workout, not missing ground balls,” he said. “Things that help us get better, I try to do.”

He also knows the Mets brought him in for his glove and that his bat could use improvement. At age 35, it’s unclear how much of his offensive decline is reversible. He went from hitting .276 with 29 homers in 2023 to .230 with 15 homers in a 2025 season that was shortened by a broken foot.

“I’ve had a lot of conversations” about it, he said. “I was looking forward to the conversations with [director of hitting] Jeff Albert and [hitting coach] Troy Snitker about my last two years of performance offensively. What are some adjustments that maybe I can make to get back on track.

“Those conversations were good. I’ve been able to control the strike zone for the most part. It’s about hitting the ball with more authority and getting my body in the right position to do that more consistently.”

Entering his 14th major-league season, Semien knows he doesn’t know everything. Musing about his shift from shortstop to second base all those years ago, he said, “I’m still learning every day.”

And continuing to learn, it turns out, is a pretty valuable lesson to teach.

By Laura Albanese

laura.albanese@newsday.com@AlbaneseLaura

Laura Albanese is the Mets beat writer for Newsday. She's been covering MLB since 2014 after starting at Newsday as an intern seven years earlier.