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george castillo
Orlando Florida — New York Mets Manager Carlos Mendoza strongly denied recent reports of clubhouse issues last season, including infighting francisco lindor And juan sotoCalled them “lies” and “wrong” during a news conference at MLB’s winter meetings on Monday.
“It’s impressive that no one talked about our clubhouse and what we’ve heard over the last two weeks is that we were basically fighting every day when that’s the complete opposite of the reality,” Mendoza said in Spanish. “This is a professional clubhouse where people respect each other, where people come to work and compete day in and day out.”
Last month, the New York Post reported that Lindor had strong words for the second baseman Jeff McNeil After a late-inning defensive mistake against philadelphia phillies On 20 June. The incident, confirmed by ESPN sources, occurred in front of teammates in the clubhouse and created tension.
The Mets lost that game 10–2 in Philadelphia, their seventh consecutive loss. The decline was the beginning of a three-and-a-half-month collapse that dropped the Mets to the best record in baseball and out of the postseason picture despite fielding the second-most expensive roster in the majors.
Mendoza said, “What was the difference? We didn’t win baseball games.” “Nobody talked about our clubhouse the first two-and-a-half months of the season, when we had the best record. Nobody talked about the clubhouse. There were two-and-a-half months of bad baseball, and so now everybody’s talking about the problems. That’s a complete lie. But it’s part of the market. It’s part of what we live with in New York.”
Mendoza also criticized the former Mets reliever adam ottavino Recently he was charged on his “Baseball and Coffee” podcast. Ottavino, who made 60 relief appearances for the 2024 Mets under Mendoza, condemned the Mets’ handling of injuries to pitchers, saying Mendoza “doesn’t know what he’s doing when it comes to bullpen guys and how to keep them healthy or even take care of them.”
Mets relievers ranked third in innings pitched last season. reducing ones reed garrett, danny young, max kranik And daniel nunez Was one of the pitchers to miss the season due to an arm injury. Mendoza said the workload was a result of the Mets starters’ inability to get deep into games; The Mets ranked 27th in baseball in starters innings pitched. But Mendoza, who led the Mets to the National League Championship Series as a rookie manager in 2024, insisted he was cautious with the use of relievers.
“The facts are absolutely correct,” Mendoza said. “We were probably one of the teams that protected the bullpen guys better than anybody. And you’re talking about how we were able to do that with so little length that we were getting from the start. I don’t think it’s a Mets issue. I think it’s an industry. [issue]This year, we were dealing with a lot of injuries, But like I said, I’m also comfortable with the process,”
Strengthening the bullpen was a priority for the Mets entering the offseason. The club recently addressed the relief corps by signing devin williams Three-year, $51 million deal. Williams will either close games or serve as a setup man if re-signed by the Mets Edwin DiazMets president of baseball operations David Stearns said Monday that other needs include a starting pitcher and an outfielder, though he stressed the door is not closed on a possible reunion with the first baseman, pete alonso,
“As I’ve always said, he’s a great Met,” Stearns said. “We’d be glad to have him back.”
