Fresh start for overhauled Mets comes with target on their backs

The Mets boarded busses outside Nationals Park on Sept. 27 as a battered team that had just completed a last-place, pandemic-shortened season.

Changes were coming, with Steve Cohen’s purchase of the team and Sandy Alderson’s return to oversee the entire organization, including the front office. Nearly half the 40-man roster was overhauled during a winter highlighted by Francisco Lindor’s arrival in a trade with Cleveland. Now, six months later, the Mets return to Washington ready to display how far they have come since their last game. It starts for real Thursday night with two potential Hall of Famers, Jacob deGrom and Max Scherzer, scheduled to pitch and two of the NL’s best lineups ready to roll.