Oct 16, 2024; New York City, New York, USA; New York Mets catcher Francisco Alvarez (4) bat slips out of his hands against the Los Angeles Dodgers in the second inning during game three of the NLCS for the 2024 MLB playoffs at Citi Field. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-Imagn Images
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QUEENS, NY — Francisco Alvarez knows he is trying to do too much on the big stage that is the NLCS. Now he just needs to find a way to slow it all down.
The New York Mets’ catcher is 5-for-35 this postseason with 13 strikeouts, including a miserable stretch between Games 2 and 3 of the NLCS in which he stranded 10 runners on base in a span of four at-bats.
Wednesday night’s 8-0 loss in Game 3 featured three looking strikeouts for Alvarez, including one in the second inning with the bases loaded while the Mets trailed 2-0.
“I feel very late with the fastball,” Alvarez said as he explained the overarching issues with his mechanics. “I’m trying to get early with the fastball. I feel like that’s the problem. I can’t get early to it. So I have to be early with it so I can look better at the plate. I have to be early with my front foot and lead my shoulder through the ball… My hips are very fast… I have to stay close. I keep rushing and I’m using my hips so fast. So I have to slow down…
“I think sometimes I try to do too much… more than I can do. So I have to look at the bigger things — be on time with the fastball.”
Oct 16, 2024; New York City, New York, USA;New York Mets catcher Francisco Alvarez (4) reacts after striking out against the Los Angeles Dodgers in the second inning during game three of the NLCS for the 2024 MLB playoffs at Citi Field. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-Imagn Images
Despite the major slump that has stymied the Mets’ offensive production, manager Carlos Mendoza immediately shut down any notion that the 22-year-old would be benched for Game 4 and beyond, stressing that he is going to stick with the guys that got New York to this point.
“I really appreciate Carlos saying that and giving me that confidence,” Alvarez said. “That is why we’re here in the playoffs. He gives confidence to every player. We feel very comfortable in the clubhouse, we feel very comfortable in the dugout. That is why we’re winning so many games.”
Alvarez has also had a parade of teammates coming to him to offer their support, including Francisco Lindor and Jesse Winker. The one that stuck out to him the most, though, was the usually tight-lipped Starling Marte.
“I was like, ‘Wow, he really loves me,’” Alvarez joked. “I feel like he talked to me from his heart. I really appreciate all my teammates and coaches, too.”
Warm sentiments aside, Alvarez is going through it in a sport that will always find the proverbial squeaky wheel. After all, he left seven on base in the Mets’ 7-3 Game 2 win in Los Angeles before getting that bases-loaded at-bat in the second inning on Wednesday.
Mendoza was adamant that “he’ll come through for us,” but entering Game 4 down 2-games-to-1, the ticking clock is starting to speed up.
“I don’t think it’s more pressure. It’s the same game,” Alvarez said. “I want to win every day. If we don’t win, we’ll get them the next day. If I don’t do good, I get them the next day. Today is another day. Yesterday was frustrating. Today is another day.”
For more on Francisco Alvarez and the Mets, visit AMNY.com
It’s really hard to win a World Series. The Phillies have been around for 141 years and have just two of them.
Philadelphia won’t win a third this year. Even though at times it felt inevitable.
They faltered in predictable ways in Queens Wednesday night, losing in four games to the rival New York Mets in a 4-1 defeat that was preventable in a bevy of ways.
It was mismanaged. The pitching was horrendous throughout. The hitting was even worse. The fielding was subpar. Or maybe the Mets are just a team of destiny.
Baseball is over in Philly and a long (much longer than expected) offseason awaits.
If you’re a glutton for punishment and want to re-live the torture, here’s one last look at the good, the bad, and some thoughts on the big picture for this team moving forward:
The good
• I am tempted to skip this section entirely. But the Phillies kept fighting (or some of them did). Nick Castellanos has been a total beast in this series and he showed grit with a single in the eighth that sort of gave the Phillies hope (trailing by three). It was just for fun, as he was stranded there.
• Ranger Suárez’s start Wednesday was one of the most bizarre I have ever seen — playoffs or regular season. He loaded the bases two innings in a row, allowed nine baserunners, struck out eight, and somehow didn’t allow a run. He bent, a lot, but did not break. And while he didn’t go as deep into the game as the other starters usually do, he did create a bridge to the Phillies’ top relievers who would subsequently bail him out. Jeff Hoffman inherited two runners from Suárez with one out in the fifth and didn’t allow them to score. But then he ruined the season (we’ll get to that).
Suárez got 12 swings and misses from Mets batters, many of them from his curveball which was giving New York hitters fits. The only number that matters is the one under “runs,” and by that measure, the Phillies’ fourth starter got the job done.
• A little good luck helped the Phillies to get on the board first, when a Bryce Harper walk and Castellanos double set the table for an Alec Bohm fielders choice that was weakly hit and Mark Vientos couldn’t handle it, plating Harper for a 4th inning lead, 1-0. It was the first run scored in the first five innings of a game this series since Kyle Schwarber’s leadoff home run in the opener back on Saturday. It was ugly, but a run is a run.
The bad
• Carlos Estévez surrendered a grand slam to Francisco Lindor in the sixth inning that basically ended the Phillies’ season.
It wasn’t completely his fault — Hoffman left the bases loaded for him. And manager Rob Thomson let Hoffman stay in to load the bases. The Phillies’ hitters posted just one run up to that point in the ballgame. But the Mets cashed in on their third bases-loaded opportunity. It’s playing with fire when you toss around as many baserunners as the Phillies did Wednesday — 15 in all. The implosion was inevitable. As was their season ending with a whimper.
• Schwarber got a chance at the plate as the tying run in the ninth, after a pair of Edwin Díaz walks, but he struck out and the Mets flooded the field to celebrate.
• I really wasn’t sure whether to put Suárez’s first inning under the good or the bad. He threw 30 pitches, and allowed two hits and a walk — but was able to wiggle his way out of the early jam with a pair of strikeouts to keep the Mets off the board. His extended workload in the frame all but assured a lot of bullpen reliance in this one.
• Definitely belonging under the bad category is Bohm’s misfielding of a chopper that could have been a double play, and should definitely have been at least one out. He missed a tag on the runner crossing from second to third, and after his bobbling of the baseball, threw wide of Harper at first, who was unable to make the force out. Another Bohm misstep came an inning later when a dribbler to third wound up as a base hit as he wasn’t able to maneuver a throw. A slicker infielder turns two there, or at least gets one out on the play. Suárez got out of the jam anyway.
When the Phillies look for upgrades this offseason, they might have to address third base.
• Hoffman might have pitched himself out of a job. After tight-roping a Suárez jam in the fifth, he proceeded to give up a hit, a walk and a hit batter — with two wild pitches mixed in — to load the bases with nobody out in the bottom of the sixth. He was lifted with one out, and responsible for all three runners. A grand slam came minutes later. All of this in addition to him having two dreadful outings already in the NLDS. Thomson has shown a ton of faith in Hoffman and it burned him big time repeatedly in this series.
• It’s really hard to win baseball games when you’re repeatedly playing from behind. We mentioned it earlier, but just two runs over the first five innings of four games in total is unacceptable. They have one of the most talent-laden tops of the order in all of baseball and they have been too often unheard from until it’s too late.
Harper hit a double in the sixth — and Bohm walked — and it amounted to absolutely nothing. Thomson left Bryson Stott in with two men on to face a lefty and he grounded out to end the inning.
• You don’t want to have too many guys slumping at once in the postseason. We’ve documented Bohm’s issues on offense — he is still working out of it. Add J.T. Realmuto to the list. The Phils’ catcher went 0-for-11 for the series and had some missed opportunities with runners on base Wednesday.
The big picture
• I want to use this section to share a few stray thoughts from Wednesday’s game and the playoffs at large. It’s hard to make sense of what happened during this brief playoff run. The five-day layoff was definitely one of the biggest reasons for blame. Teams all across the league have seen bye-winning division winners tossed aside by upstart Wild Cards. At the same time, the Phillies have not been the same team since the All-Star break and that is undeniable. It’s really hard to be the best team in baseball for seven straight months, and the Phillies held the title for about five of those.
I’m not entirely sure what the solution is. The starting pitching was among the best in baseball, the bullpen was much improved and mostly reliable. And the offense was laden with stars with proven track records. Show me a baseball team without any flaws.
Very few of the Phillies’ stars came to play when the season changed into the fall. Are wholesale changes needed to the roster? Or are they still only a piece or two away?
• The Mets fans are very knowledgeable and they care a lot about their team, but there is a huge difference between the behavior in the stands at Citi Field and at Citizens Bank Park. The Phillies fans are diehards. They breathe baseball. Every single excuse they can muster to cheer on their club they do, and they do it loud. At Citi, there were some tense and important moments and it was pretty chill. Even after Lindor’s grand slam and a 4-1 lead, six outs from clinching, the New York fans were quietly in their seats. Ask anyone who’s been to a playoff game in South Philly, it’s never chill. The fans deserve better, and definitely deserved to see more baseball this October.
The Athletic ranked postseason atmospheres, and the Phillies faithful landed second behind the Padres. I was in San Diego in 2022 and their fans were probably on par with Philadelphia’s. I was impressed but I didn’t think they were louder. Either way, the Phillies ranked second and the Mets sixth.
• Wednesday night’s game marked the 34th postseason game for the Phillies over the last three Octobers, the most in the majors. There hasn’t been a parade down Broad Street, but this team has become reliably active in the playoffs and that doesn’t look likely to change in the near future with the current team tentpoles in place for years to come.
Oct 8, 2024; New York City, New York, USA; New York Mets pitcher Sean Manaea (59) reacts after a double play in the sixth inning against the Philadelphia Phillies during game three of the NLDS for the 2024 MLB Playoffs at Citi Field. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-Imagn Images
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QUEENS, NY — Two years ago on an October night in Philadelphia, Sean Manaea had finally had enough.
Called in from the bullpen in the fourth inning to try and help his former team, the San Diego Padres, hold a 4-3 lead, the veteran southpaw was tagged for five runs on four hits by the Phillies in just 1.1 innings of work. That night, he emailed Driveline — an analytics-based performance training center — to revamp his mechanics and his arsenal.
“That moment for me was rock bottom, pretty much,” Manaea said. “That was the night I emailed Driveline. I was like, ‘Alright, something’s gotta change, and we gotta fix something here.’ To
He developed a sweeper and changed the way he delivered the ball; a work in progress that was not immediately a hit. Last season with the San Francisco Giants, he was demoted to the bullpen before working his way back to the starting rotation thanks to that new pitch.
True to form, Mets president of baseball operations David Stearns took a chance and added Manaea to a rotation of other reclamation projects — most notably Luis Severino.
It has paid off remarkably, especially on Tuesday night in Game 3 of the NLDS at Citi Field. Nearly two years after his rock-bottom moment, Manaea had one of, if not the best night of his nine-year career. And it happened to be against none other than the Phillies.
The 32-year-old went seven innings plus one batter in the eighth — a career postseason high — and allowed just a single run on three hits with three strikeouts and two walks as the Mets took a 2-1 series lead with a 7-2 victory.
“To be as low as I was there and to be here now, it’s such an incredible feeling to be able to persevere through all that,” Manaea said. “I’m super proud of myself for that.”
He was also pitching with a heavy heart as he found out just hours before the game that his Aunt Mabel had passed: “That game was for her.”
Manaea did not yield his first hit of the night until the third inning, retiring 15 of the first 18 batters he faced through the fifth inning. But he ran into trouble in the sixth with his side up 2-0.
In his third time through the Phillies’ lineup, he walked Kyle Schwarber and Trea Turner to lead off the frame to set up a pivotal matchup with two-time MVP Bryce Harper. Manaea won the battle, getting Harper to whiff at his steady diet of sweepers before getting Nick Castellanos to line out into an inning-ending double play.
Manaea, who is reserved more often than not, writhed in satisfaction as he left the mound — pumping his fists while screaming toward the heavens.
“When he needed to make pitches, he did,” Mets manager Carlos Mendoza said. “It was a different look today even though we’ve seen it the whole year, but his mound presence, his demeanor, there was something different about it today. I’m just proud of him.”
There certainly was an aura of confidence surrounding the southpaw. Despite this being the biggest start of his life, no moment seemed too big for him, especially in a raucous Citi Field that had not seen an NLDS game in nine years.
“I was just working on my breath,” Manaea said, explaining how the big stage did not blow him off course. “Those moments are huge, and I don’t need to use up the energy by myself. So it’s really just using what I have and using that moment to focus and execute. I think I’ve been doing a pretty good job of that…
“I know the defense behind me is incredible and we can do incredible things so I just have to trust that.”
While this could be the benchmark performance of his season, Manaea has been the Mets’ big man for the big occasion all year. He pitched a career-high 181.2 innings with a career-best 3.47 ERA to go with 184 strikeouts and a 1.084 WHIP, fueled by a second-half surge that saw him go 8-2 with a 2.70 ERA in 17 starts from June 26 to Sept. 21.
“I haven’t had the most amazing career, but through the ups and downs and the hardships, that’s what makes games like this mean so much,” Manaea said. “I’m proud of the work I’ve been able to do. Not just myself but the whole team, everybody I’ve been working with — you put so much time and effort into it, and to have results like this is an unbelievable thing.”
One more positive result for the Mets could translate into one of the more unbelievable things Major League Baseball will see this year: New York could head to the NLCS with a win on Wednesday.
For more on the Mets and Sean Manaea, visit AMNY.com
Oct 6, 2024; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Philadelphia Phillies first base Bryce Harper (3) reacts to striking out in the first inning against the New York Mets during game two of the NLDS for the 2024 MLB Playoffs at Citizens Bank Park. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Ross-Imagn Images
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Nick Castellanos pulled a single down the left-field line off reliever Tylor Megill to lift the Philadelphia Phillies to a 7-6 walk-off victory over the New York Mets to take Game 2 of the NLDS on Sunday evening at Citizens Bank Park.
The dramatic win keeps the Phillies alive in the series after dropping the opener on Saturday night, which was magnified by the Mets roaring back in the top of the ninth to overturn a 6-4 deficit thanks to Mark Vientos’ second home run of the game off Phillies closer Matt Strahm to tie it up.
Bryson Stott’s two-run triple in the bottom of the eighth off Mets closer Edwin Diaz capped off a three-run to give the Phillies that two-run advantage. Holding a one-run lead, Diaz was called upon to record the last out of the seventh inning — a strikeout of Kyle Schwarber to preserve the advantage — before things came undone in the eighth. With one out in the frame, Diaz walked Bryce Harper on four pitches and allowed a single to Nick Castellanos to put runners on the corners for Stott, who slapped a double down the right-field line to plate a pair.
A slow roller by Brandon Marsh after Diaz was pulled for Tylor Megill plated Stott to give the Phillies a two-run lead, which was preserved by Matt Strahm in the top of the ninth.
It was the second time that the middle of the Phillies’ order burned the Mets in Game 2, who previously squandered a 3-0 lead built by two home runs from Vientos and Pete Alonso in the bottom of the sixth when Luis Severino, who had been brilliant through the first 5.2 innings, allowed back-to-back home runs to Harper and Castellanos to tie things up.
Brandon Nimmo responded immediately for the Mets with a solo home run in the top of the seventh to give the visitors a one-run lead and begin to flirt with a 2-0 lead in the best-of-five series. Instead, the Mets will have to settle for a split with the NLDS headed back to New York for Game 3 on Tuesday.
Vientos gave New York the lead in the top of the third following a Francisco Lindor one-out single, jumping on a first-pitch changeup from Phillies starter Christopher Sanchez that sat middle-middle and sending it 354 feet just over the elevated wall in right field.
The 24-year-old became just the ninth player in Mets franchise history to hit a postseason home run under the age of 25 and the first to do so since Michael Conforto hit two round-trippers in Game 4 of the 2015 World Series. Vientos, who went 3-for-4 with a double, became the first player in National League history to record three extra-base hits in a single postseason game.
Oct 6, 2024; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; New York Mets third base Mark Vientos (27) celebrates after hitting a two-run home-run against the Philadelphia Phillies during game two of the NLDS for the 2024 MLB Playoffs at Citizens Bank Park. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-Imagn Images
If an early multi-run lead felt weird for Mets fans, that is because it had not happened recently. In fact, it was the first time in 14 games New York led by two or more runs in the first three innings.
Meanwhile, the Phillies worked a runner over to third in the first and third innings, but Severino left them stranded 90 feet from paydirt.
Escaping those early jams provided the foundation for Severino to find a groove, as he retired 13 of 15 batters faced from the end of the second to the end of the fifth.
Alonso rudely greeted the Phillies’ bullpen to lead off the sixth inning, taking a Jonathan Ruiz curveball that sat up and away in the zone the other way — just as Vientos did — 370 feet to give the Mets a three-run lead.
However, Severino’s day came undone in three pitches in the bottom of the sixth. Allowing a two-out single to Trea Turner, Harper brought Philadelphia to within one with a 431-foot moonshot to dead-center. Two pitches later, Castellanos jumped on a hanging sweeper to left-center to tie things up.
But as the Mets have done every time in the last week, they responded swiftly in the top of the seventh when Nimmo pulled a 3-1 Orion Kerkering sinker over the right-field wall to regain the lead.
PHILADELPHIA — Kodai Senga slapped the dugout railing in a raw display of emotion, a most unexpected Game 1 starter pumping his fist during an eighth-inning comeback that – have you followed these New York Mets? – should really have been expected by now.
New York has mastered the art of the late rally, first in Atlanta, then in the Wild Card Series at Milwaukee and now this so-called stunner – five runs in the eighth against two All-Star relievers for a 6-2 win Saturday over the Philadelphia Phillies in the opener of their NL Division Series.
“Over the long run and you keep doing that time and time again, it should work out,” Mets left fielder Brandon Nimmo said. “And we have enough good hitters that if we all come up with plans and we all take our shots, that we like our chances of breaking through.
“So I think Atlanta, Milwaukee, very recent examples that you have in the back of your head to give you confidence that you’re never out of it.”
Senga played his small part in the win pretty well for a pitcher who was an injured afterthought all season. He tossed two innings in only his second start of the year, throwing 31 pitches before giving way to a sensational bullpen.
The right-hander served up Kyle Schwarber’s leadoff home run on his third pitch and left with the Mets down 1-0. He struck out three and walked one; Schwarber’s homer was the only hit he allowed.
Senga had thrown just 5 1/3 major league innings all year before he was announced by New York manager Carlos Mendoza the surprise starter for the NLDS opener.
The Japanese star joined the Mets ahead of the 2023 season on a $75 million, five-year contract and became an All-Star in his first season. He went 12-7 with a 2.98 ERA in 29 starts and finished second in NL Rookie of the Year voting.
But the 31-year-old made just one start this season as he dealt with shoulder and calf injuries. The team’s projected No. 1 starter, Senga also was slowed late in the year by tightness in his right triceps.
He impressed enough against the Phillies that Mendoza could call on Senga again for another start in the best-of-five series.
“If they call on me, I just prepare to pitch that day. That’s all there is,” Senga said through a translator.
Mendoza, in his first season as Mets manager, said the plan going into Game 1 was two innings or about 35 pitches.
“We have an idea of what we’re doing there,” Mendoza said. “Hopefully we get to a point where that relationship continues to develop and there’s more conversation, kind of like what I have with the starters, that I have the whole year, and I know when to push and when not to. I don’t think I’m there with Senga.”
David Peterson, who earned his first career save in the Wild Card Series clincher against Milwaukee, kept the Mets in the game with three innings of shutout relief. Reed Garrett tossed two perfect innings for the win.
Phil Maton struck out two in a scoreless eighth – Mets pitchers fanned eight – and Ryne Stanek was touched for a run in the ninth.
Thanks to the five-run burst and a stellar bullpen effort, the Mets could afford to rest closer Edwin Díaz.
The Mets stunned the Phillies and another packed house at Citizens Bank Park, not with a dramatic drive like Pete Alonso’s go-ahead, three-run homer in the ninth inning of Game 3 at Milwaukee, but instead they henpecked the bullpen with singles and sacrifice flies.
With Phillies ace Zack Wheeler out of the game after throwing one-hit ball over seven shutout innings, the Mets had three straight batters reach base in the eighth after facing 0-2 counts. Mark Vientos hit a tying single and Nimmo laced a go-ahead single past a drawn-in infield for a 2-1 lead.
All-Star relievers Jeff Hoffman and Matt Strahm got just one out combined and allowed five runs in the eighth.
Nimmo added an RBI single in the ninth. All eight of New York’s hits – seven in the final two innings – were singles.
After the last out, Mets fans crowded the rows behind their dugout and chanted “Let’s Go Mets! Let’s Go Mets!”
Leave it to the Mets to win this one late – they have scored 18 runs in the eighth and ninth innings over six games since Monday. New York joined the 1980 Phillies and 1999 Mets as the only teams to win consecutive playoff games after trailing in the eighth inning or later.
No doubt, the Mets will be flying high when they send right-hander Luis Severino to the mound Sunday in Game 2.
“In Atlanta it was like a two-game series for our lives, and in Milwaukee it was three,” Nimmo said. “So you still go into it understanding you’ve got to win three games, and it doesn’t matter how you get there, just as long as you get there.”
Oct 2, 2024; Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA; Milwaukee Brewers outfielder Jackson Chourio (11) watches his solo home run off of New York Mets pitcher Sean Manaea (59) during the first inning in game two of their wild-card playoff game at American Family Field. Mandatory Credit: Mark Hoffman-Imagn Images
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Reliever Phil Maton was bombarded in the bottom of the eighth inning, allowing a solo home run to Jackson Chourio and a two-run shot to Garrett Mitchell, allowing the Milwaukee Brewers to come back and defeat the New York Mets 5-3 in Game 2 of the National League Wild Card Series on Wednesday night.
Chourio hit two solo home runs to help keep the Brewers’ season alive as the best-of-three series comes down to a winner-take-all Game 3 on Thursday night at American Family Field.
Maton’s stumble was the first runs allowed by the Mets bullpen in the series after going three clean innings during Monday night’s Game 1 win and an additional two in Game 2 via Reed Garrett and Ryne Stanek.
Milwaukee’s comeback win was the first time since Game 4 of the 1982 World Series that they came back to win a game in which they were trailing in the seventh inning.
The Mets will be left to rue their inability to convert in big spots, going 2-for-11 with runners in scoring position while leaving nine left on base.
New York scored all three of its three runs in the first two innings to take an early two-run advantage. Brandon Nimmo struck first in the top of the first with an RBI single to score Jose Iglesias from second. With runners on the corners and one out, Pete Alonso fumbled early New York momentum away when he grounded into an inning-ending double play.
His grounder deep in the hole to Willy Adames could have been beaten out, but the slugger tripped over his bat while running down the first-base line.
Chourio, the first batter Mets starter Sean Manaea faced, tied the game up in the bottom of the first, becoming the youngest player in MLB history at 20 years, 205 days old to hit a lead-off home run in the postseason.
But a mistake from Brewers starting pitcher Frankie Montas helped the Mets put up a pair in the second inning to cancel out Chourio’s historic round-tripper.
After JD Martinez struck out to lead off the inning, Montas got Starling Marte to ground out to first. The pitcher ran to the bag and beat Marte comfortably, but he dropped the throw from first baseman Rhys Hoskins, allowing the Met to reach base.
Tyrone Taylor and Francisco Alvarez hit back-to-back singles to score Marte and put runners at the corners for Francisco Lindor, whose sacrifice fly made it 3-1.
The Brewers pulled one back in the fifth after Brice Turang, who continued his strong showing in the series, led off with a double. He would come in to score on a Blake Perkins sacrifice fly.
Manaea would go no further, ending his outing with two earned runs on six hits with four strikeouts.
New York rallied in the sixth after Martinez walked and Marte singled. With two outs in the frame, Brewers manager Phil Murphy opted to intentionally walk Lindor for Jose Iglesias. The move worked as reliever Joel Payamps struck him out.
Former Yankee and Met Gary Sanchez’s one-out infield single put the Brewers in business in the bottom of the sixth off Mets reliever Reed Garrett, but solid Mets defense snuffed it out when Alvarez threw out pinch-runner Garrett Mitchell at second for the second out of the inning.
One pitch later, Garrett struck out Rhys Hoskins to keep the Mets ahead going into the seventh.
Francisco LIndor Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports
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QUEENS, NY — Francisco Lindor took two rounds of batting practice before quickly heading down the tunnel back into the Mets’ clubhouse on Sunday afternoon before his team’s series finale against the Philadelphia Phillies.
What could have been seen as a potential red flag was given context by the star shortstop after New York’s thrilling 2-1 win.
“I accomplished what I wanted to,” Lindor said. “Every day I’m pushing it to the limit. I hit that limit, that was enough. The goal is to come in every day and work as hard as I can to reach that limit the trainers want me to. Then we go from there… Another slow step in the right direction.”
Lindor’s return from an injured back is going slower than originally expected. The 30-year-old said himself that it would be a two-to-three or three-to-five-day absence after he was removed after the first inning during last Sunday’s loss to the Phillies in Philadelphia.
While manager Carlos Mendoza expressed optimism in recent days that Lindor could return to the lineup for Tuesday’s massive series opener against the Atlanta Braves, the man himself was not quite sure to make such a declaration.
“It’s hard. I want to see how I wake up and bounce back [Monday],” Lindor said. “[Monday], I will continue to do more stuff and then go from there.”
When asked whether or not he believed he would get back on the field before the regular season ends on Sept. 29 in Milwaukee, Lindor said that he was “optimistic.”
“I’m optimistic that I’m going to play,” he began. “I have a lot of faith… I believe I’m doing everything I can to try to be in a position where I can get back and play… I’m definitely improving. It’s slower than I would like.”
Aug 24, 2024; San Diego, California, USA; New York Mets shortstop Francisco Lindor (12) hits a grand slam home run against the San Diego Padres during the fourth inning at Petco Park. Mandatory Credit: Orlando Ramirez-USA TODAY Sports
Over the past week of recovery, he has taken ground balls, run on flat ground, and has hit lobbed baseballs. He has yet to run on the bases or face live pitching — just a few of the boxes that need to be checked off before he can return.
Even when he does come back, he will have to manage the discomfort.
“I’m pretty sure I don’t think I’m going to play pain-free and I’m OK with that,” Lindor said. “I just don’t want it to be a constant pain where I can’t bend over. Then I’m putting my teammates in a position where I’m not helping them as much as I can. That’s not fair to anybody. For me, it’s to be in a position where if it’s going to hurt, it’s going to come and go.”
He was administered an injection, which has made the pain “more mild,” but the tricky nature of back injuries means an abundance of caution will still be used even with the Mets hoping to clinch a playoff spot in the final days of the 2024 campaign.
That has not been the easiest order to carry out with the Mets playing so well and the postseason inching more and more close.
“That’s why I keep saying I trust the trainers,” Lindor said. “If it was for me, I would try to go out there and probably come out of the game just like I did in Philly. I trust the trainers. They study this, they prepare for this. They’re outstanding in what they do. I’ve got to make sure I’m in a spot where they say I’m good and I’m also believing that I’m good and I’ll go out there.”
For more on Francisco Lindor and the Mets, visit AMNY.com
It would have been nice to quiet the crowd in Queens — the Phillies’ I-95 rivals enthusiastically rooting on the red hot Mets as they make an unlikely push for a playoff spot.
But the Mets took three of four in a pivotal series against the Phillies this weekend, delaying Philly’s NL East celebration, at least for another day.
Philadelphia wasted a gem of a start from Zack Wheeler, who went seven innings in the finale of the series, striking out eight while allowing a pair of runs in a razor thin 2-1 loss. His Cy Young case continues to be undeniable.
The Phillies basically surrendered the series opener, sending Taijuan Walker to the mound in a feeble effort to sport a serviceable fifth starter (who will not be relevant come postseason time) in an ugly 10-6 defeat. The offense mashed Friday, as they clinched a playoff spot with a 12-2 win. On Saturday Ranger Suarez did enough to keep the Phils in it but the offense mustered just three runs in a 6-3 loss.
All of this was just short of the team’s first stated goal — clinching the division title. Here’s what you need to know, as the Phillies still have a ton to play for in the closing week of the regular season.
The NL East
After falling in three of four games in Queens, the Phillies’ still have a magic number of two to win the division — with six games remaining (three against the Cubs and then the Nationals). With a five-game lead over the aforementioned Mets in the NL East, a combination of two wins/Mets losses locks things up.
A pair of wins, a win and one Mets loss, or two losses paired with two Mets losses gives Philly the crown for the first time in over a decade. New York will have its hands full needing to go at least 5-1, or 6-0 against the Braves and Brewers, each on the road to even have a chance at shocking the baseball world.
A first-round bye
Assuming an NL East title, there is another huge prize left to play for. The Phillies currently hold the No. 2 seed in the National League, leading the NL Central champion Brewers by three games with six remaining. So they very much hold their seeding fate in their hands.
It’s a little controversial, based on recent history, as to whether the bye is a good thing. It offers between four and five days off to a baseball team that has played 162 games without more than a day off (besides the All-Star break) for six months. The Phillies were actually beneficiaries of not having a bye in each of their last two campaigns. They handled the best two-of-three Wild Card rounds with aplomb. In 2022 they swept St. Louis and then beat the well-rested Braves in four games. In 2023 they swept the Marlins and beat the well-rested Braves in four games again.
In those last two postseasons, teams with a first-round bye went 3-5 in the divisional round.
The Phillies should be in the column of wanting the time off. Getting the rotation set and resting their clearly less than 100% players will certainly be a boost for the Phils, who very much need a breather.
A combination of three wins from the Phils and losses from the Brewers would lock up that No. 2 seed. The Brewers face the Pirates and then the Mets to finish their slate.
The No. 1 seed
The top seed in the NL comes with some perks — the biggest of these is home-field advantage in every round of the postseason. Philly has the most home wins in baseball this season, and their home-field advantage in the postseason was abundantly clear in each of the last two Octobers.
Here’s a look at all of baseball (including the AL) and where things stand on September 22:
Team
Record
GB
Dodgers*
93-63
—
Phillies
92-64
1
Yankees
92-64
2
Padres
90-66
3
Guardians
90-67
3.5
Brewers
89-67
4
The Phillies hold a tiebreaker over the Dodgers* — so in reality they are a half game out of the the top seed in the postseason. They need to finish with the same record as the Dodgers.
This one will come down to the wire. L.A. will play the playoff-bound Padres and then they lowly Rockies. The Yankees are also threats for home-field in a potential World Series, and they’ll finish up with the Orioles and Pirates.
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Since 2009, The 7 Line has strived to bring Mets fans together from all over the New York City area.
From their bright orange shirts to their signature chants, The 7 Line—an apparel company—has become a staple of the Mets and Citi Field experience. For the first time, it is extending its outreach beyond just Mets games into the community.
Darren Meenan, the founder of the fan organization, found a love for running this past offseason and was determined to find a way to combine his love of the Mets with his newfound passion for running.
“Last November, I ran a turkey trot, and I wasn’t even sure if I could run the three miles,” Meenan said. “But when I got through three miles, I was like, ‘Wow, I really like this,’ so I kind of got the running bug really quickly.
“So I signed up for a race on New Year’s Eve in Flushing Meadows Park. Since there were no leaves on the trees, I could see Citi Field. That got my wheels spinning, and within two weeks, I had the 7 line 7k already in the works.”
The 7 Line 7k is set to take place on Sunday. Sept. 22, which consists of over 1,700 runners, all running to raise money for the Amazin Mets Foundation. It will start in the heart of Flushing Meadows Park and will end in the parking lot of Citi Field.
The race isn’t your everyday race, however, as the 7 Line 7k consists of the Mookie Mile. The Mookie Mile, named for former Met Mookie Wilson.
“Mile two of the race is called the Mookie Mile,” Meenan said. “So there will be a mat on the ground, and everyone has their bib, and in everyone’s bib is a transponder. So once you pass into the second mile, whoever runs the fastest mile will get a Mookie Wilson jersey. The jersey will have a patch on the shoulder that says ‘Mookie Mile winner 2024.’ Because Mookie Wilson is one of the sponsors of the event.”
Proceeds raised from the race will go to the Amazin Mets Foundation. The foundation is led by Alex Cohen, the wife of Mets owner Steve Cohen. Meenan expressed his excitement about
raising money for the charity.
“They’ve been doing a lot for the community,” Meenan said. “Some of the people from the foundation are going to run. Mr. Met is going to be there at the start which is very exciting.”
Following the race, the runners will celebrate their accomplishments at the race by tailgating outside Citi Field before the Mets take on the Phillies on Sunday Night Baseball in the Mets’ final home game of the regular season.
However, this wasn’t always the plan, as the race, which was originally set to be in July, was moved to its current date due to weather. Which means that runners are in for a lengthy tailgate.
“It kind of worked out,” Meenan said. “Now that the Mets are still in it and there’s so much excitement around the team. Unfortunately, with ESPN having the ability to change the time of games, the game was gonna be at 1, and the race is at 8:30. We were going to do the race, do the award ceremony, and then walk right into the game. So the tailgate is going to be very long. People will be so jacked up if we run this race, we go to the game, everyone’s wearing their finishing medal and we get to watch the Mets.”
For more on the 7 Line and the Mets, visit AMNY.com
Sep 16, 2024; New York City, New York, USA; New York Mets shortstop Francisco Lindor (12) talks to teammates in the dugout during the fifth inning against the Washington Nationals at Citi Field. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-Imagn Images
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QUEENS, NY — New York Mets star shortstop Francisco Lindor has “a chance,” to return to the lineup during the team’s weekend series against the Philadelphia Phillies, manager Carlos Mendoza said on Thursday afternoon.
Lindor, who is dealing with a lower back issue, was not in the Mets’ lineup for Thursday’s series opener against the Phillies, which extends to Sunday. He has missed each of the last four games after a failed one-inning comeback on Sunday in Philadelphia.
“We’re still calling it day by day,” Mendoza said. “Hopefully he turns a corner to a point where we can make a decision… I don’t want to put a date… there’s a chance he plays in this series. But if he doesn’t play, that doesn’t mean that [something went wrong]. We’ll see.”
Mendoza added that Lindor is “slowly getting better,” but that he would spend Thursday doing indoor work in the weight room to work on mobility and range of motion.
Following Monday’s MRI which showed no structural damage, Lindor suggested that his absence would be between two-to-three and three-to-five days. Friday would be five days which not much tangibility connected to the 30-year-old’s progress.
“It could be one of these [situations] where he shows up [to the ballpark one day] and he turns the corner,” Mendoza said. “You never know with back issues.”
Aug 25, 2024; San Diego, California, USA; New York Mets shortstop Francisco Lindor (12) throws to first base during the fifth inning against the San Diego Padres at Petco Park. Mandatory Credit: Orlando Ramirez-USA TODAY Sports
The Mets have been able to stay afloat without their MVP, who was batting .271 with an .836 OPS, 31 home runs, 86 RBI, and 27 steals, much in part to the contributions of Jose Iglesias and top prospect Luisangel Acuna.
New York is coming off a sweep of the Washington Nationals where it built a two-game lead over the Atlanta Braves in the Wild Card race while moving into second place via a tiebreaker over the Arizona Diamondbacks.
Including Thursday night’s series opener against the Phillies, just 10 games remain in the regular season.
“When he’s ready to go, he’ll play regardless of where we’re at in the schedule and in the standings…” Mendoza said. “If he can’t go, regardless of the situation, we don’t want to put him at risk. This is a guy who’s going to play through pain. He’s done it a lot of times but if he gives the green light without compromising some of the other body parts, then we’ll put him out there.”
For more on Francisco Lindor and the Mets, visit AMNY.com
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QUEENS, NY — Jesse Winker’s first-inning grand slam and a four-run eighth inning predicated on erratic Boston Red Sox relievers clinched the New York Mets’ seventh straight win on Wednesday night at Citi Field, 8-3.
“This feels good,” Mets manager Carlos Mendoza said. “But there’s a lot of games left, there’s a lot of good teams in the race, but the mindset continues to be the same. One game at a time… We have to come every day, be prepared. I like how the guys are going about their business.”
Winker’s early blast held up for most of the night with the hosts holding a 4-3 lead entering their final turn at-bat before Boston’s Kenley Jansen and Rich Hill walked five Mets in the bottom of the eighth, including four-in-a-row and three straight with the bases loaded to plate runs. Harrison Bader’s sacrifice fly gave the Mets a fourth run in the frame.
“Right now it’s about winning baseball games any way you can,” Winker said. “That was a complete game.”
New York’s slim lead was held intact for most of the night much in part to five scoreless innings from the relievers Alex Young, Huascar Brazoban, Danny Young, Phil Maton, and Edwin Diaz after starter Tylor Megill failed to keep a four-run lead comfortably.
While the Mets continue to stack up wins — they are now a season-high 12-games over .500 (76-64) — they remain tantalizingly close to a playoff spot but remain a half-game behind the Atlanta Braves for the third and final Wild Card spot in the National League.
New York was able to get to Red Sox starter Tanner Houck, who had been Boston’s ace this season with a 3.12 ERA entering Wednesday night, from the jump. The righty loaded the bases before recording a single out when singles by Francisco Lindor and Mark Vientos sandwiched a Brandon Nimmo walk.
After Pete Alonso struck out, Winker lined a 2-2 splitter from Houck the other way that just cleared the left-center-field fence to clear the bases. It was Winker’s 14th home run of the season, his third with the Mets, and his fifth career grand slam.
“I was just trying to get something over the plate that I could hit up in the air,” Winker said. “He threw me a lot of really tough pitches. I was just happy that one got out.”
Megill gave three right back in the third inning when he yielded three straight hits to lead off the frame — the last of them being an RBI double by Jarren Duran to get Boston on the board. Rafael Devers and Wilyer Abreu each hit sacrifice flies to get the visitors within one.
Following a lead-off single by Emmanuel Valdez in the fifth, Megill was quickly pulled by Mendoza for reliever Alex Young, who got through the inning unscathed. Megill threw just 67 pitches in what is expected to be his final start before returning to Triple-A with Paul Blackburn expected to come back from the injured list next week.
“Once we got [four innings], I was going to try and stop him as quick as possible,” Mendoza said of the quick hook of Megill. “We got four there, a big hit by Winker… we just had to try and stop it there and give us a chance to win somehow.
Mets bats went silent following Winker’s slam, getting just two hits in their next 20 plate appearances stretching into the seventh inning — their one-run lead still intact thanks to a bullpen that saw three different relievers (Young, Brazoban, and Danny Young) coax three inning-ending double plays in the fifth, sixth, and seventh.
After Danny Young got Boston’s No. 1 and 2 hitters in Duran and Devers, Mendoza called on Maton to see out the eighth. Instead, he allowed two straight singles to Rob Refsnyder and Tyler O’Neill to put runners at the corners but got Masataka Yoshida to line out softly to Lindor at short.
“They did a hell of a job, all of those guys,” Mendoza said. “They kept making pitches. We turned three double plays when we needed because they continued to execute, they didn’t panic. Overall, we did a lot of good things.”
Jansen helped put the Mets in the driver’s seat in the eighth when he walked Nimmo and yielded a single to Vientos to put two on with no outs. After striking out Alonso, he walked Winker and Taylor to bring in a run. Hill, a former Met, was called upon in an attempt to stop the bleeding, but he walked Jeff McNeil and Francisco Alvarez to make it a 7-3 game before Bader’s sacrifice fly.
“Those at-bats against Jansen were really, really good,” Mendoza said. “We’re doing a lot of good things and we need to continue to do that to get where we want to be.”
Aug 13, 2022; Miami, Florida, USA; Miami Marlins relief pitcher Huascar Brazoban (81) delivers against the Atlanta Braves in the eighth inning at loanDepot Park. Mandatory Credit: Jim Rassol-USA TODAY Sports
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QUEENS, NY — The New York Mets fit in one more bullpen upgrade just before Major League Baseball’s trade deadline on Tuesday evening, acquiring right-handed reliever Huascar Brazoban from the Miami Marlins for shortstop prospect Wilfredo Lara.
The 34-year-old was enjoying his best year as a pro in 2024 with the NL East minnows, going 1-2 with a 2.93 ERA, 1.01 WHIP, and 34 strikeouts in 30.2 innings pitched. He immediately becomes a seventh or eighth-inning option in a Mets bullpen that was in dire need of a legitimate boost at the deadline with Adam Ottavino struggling to find consistency.
Not only does the Dominican Republic native have a 27.2% strikeout rate, but a hard-hit rate of 19.2% and a 3.8% barrel rate would also rank near the top of all relievers in MLB if he qualified. He did not make his 2024 debut until June 1 partly because of visa complications that landed him on MLB’s restricted list.
He has been especially dominant as of late with zero earned runs on eight hits in his last 10 outings (14.2 innings) with 19 strikeouts compared to just two walks.
Brazoban’s two best pitches are his offspeed options, which supplement a four-seam fastball and sinker that average close to 96 mph. A 90-mph changeup carries a whiff rate of 40.7% this season while his 88-mph cutter’s whiff rate is at 36.1%.
This is an immediate upgrade from Jake Diekman, whom the Mets designated for assignment on Monday after a difficult first year in Queens. He also keeps the bullpen afloat while Reed Garrett and Sean Reid-Foley continue their rehab from the injured list.
Brazoban is under team control for the next five seasons.
For more on the Mets and Huascar Brazoban, visit AMNY.com
Jul 26, 2024; New York City, New York, USA; New York Mets first baseman Pete Alonso (20) and shortstop Francisco Lindor (12) celebrates with teammates after the game against the Atlanta Braves at Citi Field. Mandatory Credit: Vincent Carchietta-USA TODAY Sports
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Major League Baseball’s trade deadline is Tuesday at 6 p.m. ET and the New York Mets appear to be buyers.
A torrid stretch between June and July has them in a National League Wild Card spot and nipping at the heels of the Atlanta Braves, a team that sits ahead of New York for both second place in the NL East and the top Wild Card spot.
While president of baseball operations David Stearns had to maintain a wait-and-see approach through the All-Star break, he has tipped his hand that he is in the market for upgrades. To address a weakened and meager bullpen, he already acquired Phil Maton from the Tampa Bay Rays and Ryne Stanek from the Seattle Mariners.
If Stearns had his way, the Mets would not be done addressing the bullpen, either. The team designated Jake Diekman for assignment after a miserable four months in Queens on Monday and are without Sean Reid-Foley, Reed Garrett, and Dedniel Nunez due to injuries — though Garrett is expected to return sooner rather than later. Edwin Diaz has been inconsistent, so has Adam Ottavino, and Drew Smith was lost for the season earlier this month.
New York’s 4.09 bullpen ERA ranks 19th in the majors this season and has been amongst its most inconsistent units.
The starting rotation is also believed to be a focus of Stearns in the final hours before the trade deadline, which is something of a later development.
Slated to move to a six-man rotation just a week ago, they lost Christian Scott due to a sprained UCL and on Friday, saw Kodai Senga go down with a high-grade cal strain just 5.1 innings into his 2024 season debut.
With Jose Butto succeeding as a long reliever — a job that is solely his after the team DFA’d Adrian Houser — that leaves Stearns and manager Carlos Mendoza’s current options bare. Tylor Megill struggled against the Atlanta Braves on Saturday and David Peterson did not fare much better on Sunday after a solid string of outings.
Foraying into the starting-pitching market this time of year will be tricky, though. Stearns and the Mets want to keep their farm system mostly intact, meaning an understandable stubbornness to part with young talent for rentals.
Of course, exceptions to such a rule apply. The Detroit Tigers are rumored to be making their ace, Tarik Skubal available. Not only is the 27-year-old right-hander a front-runner for the AL Cy Young Award this season, but he does not become an unrestricted free agent until 2027. Perhaps that would coax the Mets to part with a bit more from the farm.
Jul 27, 2024; Detroit, Michigan, USA; Detroit Tigers pitcher Tarik Skubal (29) throws during the second inning against the Minnesota Twins at Comerica Park. Mandatory Credit: Brian Bradshaw Sevald-USA TODAY Sports
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BRONX, NY — New York Mets starting pitcher Christian Scott will be shut down for two weeks and is expected to be ramped up after that, manager Carlos Mendoza revealed on Wednesday before his team’s series finale against the Yankees.
Mendoza called it “relatively good news,” even going as far as saying he was “relieved,” about this initial timetable. Scott was placed on the 15-day injured list, retroactive to July 22, on Tuesday with a sprained UCL.
“It’s not the worst-case scenario, which is awesome,” Scott said on Wednesday. “It’s a sigh of relief for now… The team has done a really good job of testing me out, sending me to imaging, and talking to some doctors and our training staff. I feel comfortable in the position we are in right now.”
An MRI on Tuesday revealed the extent of the injury but the Mets pursued multiple opinions on the injury, prompting Mendoza shortly after the results came down on Tuesday to share that “there’s always fear [of surgery].“
“Every time you send a pitcher for an MRI because he complains about an elbow, you never know what you’re going to get,” Mendoza said after getting the good news on the 25-year-old right-hander.
Scott initially felt discomfort in his pitching arm after his start on Sunday against the Miami Marlins. When the pain did not go away, the Mets sent him out to get imaging.
Mandatory Credit: Sam Navarro-USA TODAY Sports
The initial expectation is that Scott will return to the mound in the majors this season — a rookie year that has seen him go 0-3 with a 4.56 ERA.
“Obviously, we have to wait the next two weeks and see how he progresses when we start building back up,” Mendoza said. “But from what I was told talking to the trainers and even with Scotty, we feel pretty good that he’ll be back here.”
While the Mets still plan on instituting a six-man rotation once Kodai Senga makes his season debut on Friday, there is no indication as of yet about who will slot in for Scott on Saturday. Jose Butto remains the favorite, but that could change if Mendoza needs him out of the bullpen.
For more on Christian Scott and the Mets, visit AMNY.com
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Francisco Lindor ripped a two-out, two-run single in the top of the ninth off Pittsburgh Pirates closer Aroldis Chapman to lift the New York Mets to a dizzying, late-lead-swapping 3-2 victory on Sunday afternoon at PNC Park.
Lindor, who went 3-for-4 in the win, was the first man to cross the plate on Sunday when he scored on Brandon Nimmo’s double with two outs in the top of the eighth inning, but closer Edwin Diaz — making his second appearance since returning from his sticky-stuff suspension — allowed a two-run single to Nick Gonzales in the bottom of the eighth to put the hosts in the driver’s seat.
But the Mets immediately put the pressure on Chapman to turn the tides and pick up their second win of the four-game series, which concludes on Monday afternoon. Francisco Alvarez walked and Harrison Bader singled to lead off the inning before the fireballing left-hander struck out Mark Vientos and Luis Torrens to put the Mets’ backs against the wall.
But Jose Iglesias walked to load the bases and ultimately set the table for Lindor, who continues to shine while batting out of the lead-off spot.
After losing three straight, the Mets have now won two in a row to get back to .500 (44-44) while Diaz rebounded with a 1-2-3 bottom of the ninth to finish his second straight game
The Mets needed a rally in the top of the eighth just to put them on the board, initially. After Iglesias was thrown out trying to steal second for the second out of the inning, Lindor drew a walk before Nimmo lined a double the other way to left-center field.
Lindor was sent home — a move that might have been overly aggressive — but the relay throw was dropped by Pirates shortstop Oneil Cruz to allow the Mets’ star shortstop to score without a throw. Considering Cruz is regarded as the hardest-throwing infielder in the game, a clean transfer would have created a close play at the plate.
Mets starter Sean Manaea worked his way around an abundance of early trouble set up by control issues to put together a second-consecutive quality start, going six shutout innings while allowing just two hits with six strikeouts, but he walked three.
Two of those free passes came in the first inning, but a Bryan Reynolds double play got him out of a jam without a scratch.
Manaea committed an error to lead off the second inning when he failed to touch first base while accepting a throw from first baseman Pete Alonso but proceeded to set the next three he faced in order, although his pitch count ran up to 38 through just two frames.
The southpaw settled as the finish to his second inning began a stretch in which he retired eight consecutive Pirates. He needed just 51 pitches to get through the last four innings of his outing.
New York was just as mystified as Pittsburgh starter Luis L. Ortiz, though, as it was limited to just four hits across six scoreless innings.
It was not until the bullpens were ushered in that the levies broke as the Mets scored the game’s opening run in the top of the eighth against Colin Holderman — the reliever whom they traded to Pittsburgh for Daniel Vogelbach during the 2022 season.
Diaz was called in to clean up the mess made by Dedniel Nunez to start the bottom of the eighth. He allowed singles to Jack Suwinski and Andrew McCutchen to put two on with two outs before manager Carlos Mendoza called on his closer.
The righty walked Joshua Palacios on four pitches to load the bases before Gonzales pulled a single through the hole in the left side of the infield.
Brandon Nimmo being checked out by team trainers after suffering an intercostal injury on Saturday, May 11 vs. Atlanta (Lloyd Mitchell/AMNY)
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It looked as though the only thing that could have slowed Brandon Nimmo down was an injury, and that is exactly what appeared to have happened.
The New York Mets’ veteran left fielder left Saturday’s 4-1 loss to the Atlanta Braves after tweaking his right side while trying to hold up a check swing during the third inning. He stayed in the game, working out a walk, but officially departed in the fifth inning when Tyrone Taylor took over for him in left field.
“I was trying to do as much as I could to just get past it and move on in the at-bat, but it felt good for the most part,” Nimmo told reporters after the game (h/t SNY). “It was just more so knowing that it was a cold day and in one half-inning of being out in the outfield it had started to tighten up a little bit and not wanting to exert it more in the cage but also needing to keep it warm for the next at-bat, and so that’s kind of where we came to the decision of let’s play it more safe.
“But yes I did take two more swings and was able to finish the at-bat and that gives me a lot of confidence moving forward.”
The team labeled it as intercostal irritation and manager Carlos Mendoza initially projected this as a “day-to-day” issue. Nimmo also transmitted confidence that this would not land him on the injured list.
“I don’t think it’s IL,” Nimmo said. “I’m hopeful that [Sunady] I will be good to go. I have 24 hours to recover which is a lot in baseball and I am hopeful for tomorrow. If it’s not I don’t expect it to be much longer than that.”
(AP Photo/Jeff Roberson)
It is understandable for the Mets to practice an abundance of caution. Intercostal injuries, which occur between the ribs, are tricky to navigate and if aggravated, could land Nimmo on the shelf for an extended period of time — as long as two months.
“My worry was just knowing where it was at, that if I had to check up and if I did more then we’re talking something more like six to eight weeks rather than one or two days,” Nimmo said. “…If it does get worse then we’re talking something much more serious so we decided to play on the safer side.”
After a slow start to the 2024 season, Nimmo was coming around over the last two weeks. Across his previous 11 games, he was slashing .297/.422/622 (1.044 OPS) with three home runs, eight RBI, and six walks.
For more on Brandon Nimmo and the Mets, visit AMNY.com
Teammates remember how much he loved playing for the Mets. A slick-fielding shortstop on the 1969 Miracle Mets World Series team, Harrelson played with pride, passion and with an edge to his game. When the former Mets infielder and manager died at 79 after a battle with Alzheimer’s disease earlier this month, the tributes came pouring in from all over the baseball world.
Even Pete Rose paid tribute to Harrelson, remembering him as a “good guy.” Harrelson, a smaller, scrappier player, infamously took on baseball’s controversial hit king during the 1973 NLCS, starting a scuffle that led to a benches-clearing brawl at Shea Stadium.
Fans remember Harrelson as an affable, friendly face. He sat for long lines of autographs and he posed for photos with kids. Born Derrel McKinley Harrelson, the nickname “Buddy” was apt since everyone who met him felt like he was their buddy.
“Bud was the same friendly giving individual whether you met him at the ballpark or the gas station,” Frank Boulton, his longtime business partner with the Long Island Ducks, told the Daily News.
Make no mistake, while much of his career came in Queens, his influence went far beyond. It extended to those he helped get back into affiliated baseball and it extended to other families affected by Alzheimer’s, with the Harrelson family having helped to raise $61,000 for the Walk to End Alzheimer’s.
With the Mets, Harrelson played in two World Series (1969 and 1973) and coached in another (1986). He managed Mets affiliates in the 1980s and in the big leagues when was named the successor to Davey Johnson in 1990. It was this experience that became key for Harrelson a decade later.
A native of the San Francisco Bay Area, Harrelson made his home on Long Island and it truly did become a home for him. This is why Harrelson brought the Ducks to Long Island and why, after receiving his diagnosis in 2016, he helped raise money for the local chapter of the Alzheimer’s Association.
While his accomplishments later in life may look like a footnote compared to his illustrious Major League career, to him, it was his legacy.
“Bud, on many occasions, claimed the Ducks were the best thing he ever did in professional baseball,” Boulton said. “I truly believe the connection with our fan base was the driving factor. He loved to engage with our fans.”
Bud Harrelson
Boulton founded the Atlantic League in 1998, not long before he was connected with Harrelson.
Independent leagues have come and gone throughout the years, but the Atlantic League has seen considerable success. It can often be seen as a last stop of sorts for players who are unable to get contracts with affiliated teams, but it’s much more than that. Players have parlayed Atlantic League contracts into second chances at affiliated ball, or even a second chance in the big leagues.
The league now works with MLB to test new rules and has even welcomed women onto its teams.
Harrelson’s first foray into minor league ownership was with Boulton. A former trader from Brightwaters, Boulton was introduced to Harrelson in 1991. He previously owned two minor league teams affiliated with the Yankees and Harrelson expressed interest in minor league ownership. The two purchased the Peninsula Pilots, a Class-A Carolina League team, and relocated it to Wilmington Delaware.
Boulton and Harrelson would talk about their desire to bring a minor league team to Long Island on car rides up from Delaware to New York.
“Bud and I, on rides back and forth to Wilmington, knew that if we could bring professional baseball to Long Island it would be successful,” Boulton said. “And 24 years later and 9 million fans through our gates, we accomplished our goal of bringing affordable family entertainment to our friends and neighbors on Long Island.”
Harrelson took great pride in bringing a quality product to his home when the team was founded in 2000. He was the Atlantic League’s first president and the Ducks’ first manager, helping to bring credibility to an emerging team.
Harrelson was a fixture at the ballpark even after he stopped managing. He would make the drive from his home in Hauppauge often, interacting with fans, players and even the mascot, QuackerJack.
“He coached from 2001-2018, he would be the first base coach at home games, catch a ceremonial first pitch from a sponsor, then he would want to go upstairs [with the fans],” said Michael Pfaff, the Ducks president and chief business officer. “He’d go up to the luxury suites and he would take pictures with fans and sign autographs. He would just be everybody’s buddy. He created a tremendous amount of memories.”
Pfaff came to the Ducks in 2022 from the NFL where he worked for the office of the commissioner. When he pulled into the parking lot of the ballpark for his interview, Harrelson was in the parking lot waving to him as if the two had known each other for years.
“But had a very unique talent of making everyone feel like he knew them,” Pfaff said. “From the minute they met him, he made them feel like they had been lifelong friends. And I’m no different in that regard.”
Harrelson kept coming to the ballpark even after his Alzheimer’s diagnosis in 2016, though not as much as he once did. It was around that time that he started going to support group meetings with the Long Island chapter of the Alzheimer’s Association, along with his ex-wife, Kim Battaglia, who became his caretaker. Harrelson didn’t go public with the diagnosis right away, but when he did, he made sure the Alzheimer’s Association was involved.
They got in touch with the chapter’s executive director Doug Davidson, who feared that Harrelson would find out that he was a Chicago Cubs fan during an introductory dinner.
“I was scared out of my mind,” Davidson joked.
Battaglia, Harrelson and his five kids formed “Team Harrelson.” They not only managed his care as the disease progressed but they also got involved with advocacy efforts. Harrelson and Battaglia joined the board of directors and he became a chairman of the walk. The Ducks put together an Alzheimer’s awareness night at the ballpark, where his daughter, Kassandra, “brought down the house” with a speech.
It was so impressive, she ended up becoming the keynote speaker at a caregiver conference.
“The family became so full-on with the mission,” Davidson said. “Bud’s message was that he wanted to help educate others and help spread awareness. I just was blown away that a man who had accomplished all this was helping. It was unfortunate enough to be suffering with this horrible disease, and yet he was still so selfless in wanting to help others.”
A study released last year showed that the east and southeastern U.S. have the highest prevalence of Alzheimer’s disease. In 2023, Suffolk County, where Harrelson resided, ranked 11th of 62 counties with a prevalence rate of 11.7%. More than 30,000 people over the age of 65 are estimated to be living with Alzheimer’s in the county.
Disease doesn’t discriminate. Harrelson might have been a member of the Mets Hall of Fame and a beloved member of his community, and still, Alzheimer’s took hold of him, erasing his memory and his motor functions. What we’re left with is memories of Harrelson.
His memory will live on with the Alzheimer’s Association, with the money he raised helping other families understand how to cope with a terrible disease.
His memory will live on with the Ducks. The team already retired his number in 2018, holding a night dedicated just for him. They plan to play with patches embroidered with No. 3 on them this season. He is still listed as an owner on the team website, along with Boulton and Seth Waugh.
Harrelson made an imprint on New York baseball that few could ever forget.
“The Ducks are part of the fabric of the community that he cared so much about,” Pfaff said. “Providing affordable entertainment in a market where that doesn’t exist is something that is a benefit to the community. It’s a quality of life benefit… We consider it an honor to continue that legacy for as long as the Ducks play.”
The Mets have spent the last few weeks paving the road for a busy offseason. Finally, things are about to speed up.
The Winter Meetings begin Sunday in Nashville, with all of baseball set to descend on the Gaylord Opryland Resort and Convention Center. The palatial complex will be the home base for thousands of baseball personnel from Sunday through Wednesday, and it will be a grand stage for the Shohei Ohtani show.
Here’s a look at what to expect from the Mets this week.
THE DECISION 2.0
Ohtani’s decision is the most important storyline of the offseason and for good reason: He’s the biggest domino that has to fall before some of the other free agents come off the board.
This whole thing is somewhat mysterious. No one knows if he’ll be the same pitcher in 2025. We also don’t know what the market for him will look like given all the uncertainty.
But that could change next week in Nashville. Ohtani might not like being the center of attention but greats like him command the spotlight whether or not they welcome it. What better time to decide than the Winter Meetings? Even if the former Los Angeles Angel doesn’t sign next week, we’ll still come away from the week with a better idea of his market.
ESPN’s Jeff Passan said the Mets initially pursued Ohtani, but have since turned their attention elsewhere. Things could change, but for now, it looks as though Ohtani won’t be taking his talents to Queens.
ARMS RACE
This starts with Japanese right-hander Yoshinobu Yamamoto. We already know the Mets are heavily pursuing the 25-year-old and have been since the Orix Buffaloes posted him a few weeks ago.
The club views Yamamoto as a long-term rotation fixture. In 2024 and 2025, they could put him behind another Japanese right-hander, Kodai Senga. By 2026, he could be headlining a rotation that consists of mostly homegrown talent in pitchers like Mike Vasil, Blade Tidwell and Christian Scott.
But the Mets need much more than just Yamamoto if they want to be able to compete for a playoff spot next season. Plus, they’ll have competition for his services, competing with the Yankees for the first time in years for a high-profile free agent, and the first time in the Steve Cohen era. So while Yamamoto is the big name to watch, we’ll find out what else the Mets are looking for in terms of starting pitching help.
If all goes well, the Mets could leave Nashville with a couple of new starting pitchers and some bullpen help.
BIG SPENDERS
The Mets spent what they thought was needed to win a pennant last season. The 2023 season turned out to be a very costly one for more than one reason. David Stearns has been vague about how much the club intends to spend this winter, but with the goal of sustainability in mind, they know they’re going to have to spend in free agency again.
The Mets have already waded into free agency with one-year contracts going to infielder Joey Wendle and right-handed starter Luis Severino. That could be the tip of the iceberg. The industry is anticipating another expensive winter. The spending will eventually taper off when things stabilize, but that time hasn’t come yet.
“When you have the bigger jet and you say you’re going slower, you’re still going faster,” super agent Scott Boras said at the general manager meetings last month in Arizona. “But what I would say about that is that I think their idea and their vision is long-term. I think they see advantages in this market and next year’s market. They have a lot of work to do. They inherited a team that had very limited minor league depth, therefore they’ll have to do some very unique things with free agency to ramp up and particularly be competitive in the National League East.”
ALONSO UPDATE
Speaking of Boras, he’ll give his usual address during the Winter Meetings. He’s probably spent the last month workshopping lines.
In Scottsdale last month, he talked about his new client, “Polar Bear” Pete Alonso not being in “contract hibernation.” There has been no word of any talks about a contract extension since then. Boras will have more pithy lines about the Mets homegrown star first baseman, who will be a free agent after the 2024 season, but he doesn’t usually show his hand, meaning any updates will likely be minimal. But if nothing else, it will be humorous.
LINEUP UPGRADES
The Mets are in the market for a left fielder and they’ll need to find a DH upgrade as well.
Currently, there are four outfielders on the 40-man roster and one of those — Alex Ramirez — is not yet ready for big-league action. DJ Stewart will return as the fourth outfielder but left field is currently unmanned and the Mets don’t know what they can get from Starling Marte in right next season.
Tommy Pham was an effective solution in the outfield and at DH last season, so the Mets may look to acquire a player in that mold again.
When it comes to the bullpen, the Mets have to shift their priorities next season.
Last year, the club made a flurry of waiver wire moves and some minor trades in November and December to stockpile a group of pitchers that could be sent up and down between Queens and Syracuse. Former general manager Billy Eppler wanted “optionable” arms in order to keep them fresh.
On paper, it sounded like it could work. They intended to keep rolling with a young reliever on a hot streak and switch him out for another when he goes cold. But it proved to be a flawed system.
Maybe it would have been different if closer Edwin Diaz had been around, but the Mets still didn’t have the middle relief to get to Diaz on most nights. Those “optionable” arms didn’t really get hot and in the case of guys like Jeff Brigham, the team hesitated to even utilize those options.
As it stands now, the Mets have a group of mostly fringe relievers on the 40-man roster in addition to Diaz and Raley. The club chose to tender a contract to right-hander Drew Smith even after a tough year. Smith might have more value in the middle innings than the late ones, which is fine considering the Mets need to add some depth to that area.
It’s going to take a lot of work to overhaul the bullpen, but here are some things the Mets could do.
FIND A LONG MAN
Trevor Williams proved to be more important than the Mets realized last year. The right-hander made nine starts for the Mets in 2022 and regularly pitched multiple innings out of the bullpen. The Mets tried to use Stephen Nogosek and then Tommy Hunter in long-relief roles last year, but they mostly had to mop up and they were both cut by July. The Mets never found that versatile long reliever who could start games, finish them and pitch several innings in between.
However, they already have two candidates for this role internally in left-hander Joey Lucchesi and right-hander Jose Butto. Lucchesi is comfortable working multiple innings in relief and has expressed a desire to take on the role should the Mets need him to. Butto has been primarily a starter but he’s pitched in relief at various levels, including at the major league level.
The Mets could go out and look for someone to play this role in free agency or through a trade, but it’s worth giving one of these two a look.
BRING IN A SETUP MAN
Ottavino declined his player option to become a free agent, but that doesn’t mean the door is closed on a return to Queens.
The Mets should prioritize pitchers with high-leverage experience, especially if they plan to use Raley how they did last year. This is where they can use free agency. They probably won’t try to add a marquee stopper like Josh Hader, but they could add guys like Ottavino, Matt Moore or Will Smith, who seems to be a good luck charm having been a part of the last three World Series-winning teams.
The Mets could and should add more than one pitcher of this caliber. Smith is hopeful that he can play a bigger role next season, and eventually homegrown right-hander Grant Hartwig might as well, but right now, they’re still unproven.
ADD DEPTH IN THE MIDDLE
This is where David Stearns and his group can make their mark. Stearns is great at finding depth pieces on waivers, through trades or through international signings. The Mets have already made some transactions when it comes to middle relief and they figure to be a lot more aggressive over the next month in this area. They claimed Penn Murfee off waivers and lost him. They signed Cole Sulser to a minor league contract with an invitation to major league spring training.
Currently, the Mets have Smith, Hartwig and right-handers Phil Bickford, Sean Reid-Foley and Reed Garrett. Reid-Foley has some promise but at this point, we know what Bickford and Garrett are, and they’re also out of options. The Mets might have to get creative here, but there is certainly room for creativity.
ADD ANOTHER LEFT-HANDED OPTION
The three-batter minimum has eliminated the need for a true situational left-hander, but with teams in the NL East fielding some powerful left-handed hitters like Bryce Harper and Matt Olson, Raley was often called on to face them in key innings.
Raley is valuable because he can pitch in the seventh or the ninth. But if the Mets are going to use Raley to set up some, they might need another left-hander to handle left-handed power threats in the middle innings. Homegrown lefty Josh Walker could audition for this role if the Mets don’t bring in someone else this winter.
A native of Barquisimeto, Venezuela, the Mets made Mendoza only the second Major League manager to come out of the country when they hired him to replace Buck Showalter earlier this month. It’s been a popular hire in his home country, according to another native, catcher Francisco Alvarez, who said his friends and family have all started rooting for the Mets because of it.
“It’s pretty much the talk of the country right now,” Alvarez said through translator Alan Suriel Friday at the Mets’ ninth annual Turkey Drive in the Bronx. “Everyone is turning into Mets fans over there. That’s all everyone talks about and they’re, honestly, solely fans of the Mets now because we have a Venezuelan manager. So, it’s obviously something that’s really big in the country.”
Considering there have been 473 players from the country to reach the big leagues, it’s somewhat surprising that the only other manager on that list is Ozzie Guillen, who managed the Chicago White Sox and the Miami Marlins but he hasn’t managed since 2012.
Mendoza was never one of those players. He was a career minor leaguer before becoming a coach in the Yankees organization and working his way up to the bench coach role in 2020, which is often considered the second-highest position in a dugout. It was not an easy path or a linear path to the Majors for Mendoza, but it’s a path that has endeared him to Alvarez.
“I’m super proud of the story, of his background, what it’s taken him to get to this point,” Alvarez said. “It feels really good and I’m really proud of it,” Alvarez said through Suriel. “It brings me a lot of pride and joy that he’s been given this opportunity. I think he’s one of those people that can open the doors for other Venezuelan potential managers in the future because of the skill sets that he has.”
The two have yet to meet in person, but they have a phone conversation already. Mendoza wasted no time in calling up members of the Mets roster after agreeing to terms with the Mets on a three-year contract with a club option for a fourth. Alvarez characterized the conversations as positive with the two of them in the initial process of getting to know one another.
Alvarez, who recently turned 22, has shifted his mindset this winter as he ended his first full big league season. He’s also healthy this winter, having undergone ankle surgery last fall after the Mets were eliminated from the playoffs, which gives him the chance to hone in on certain parts of his game, like defensive elements behind the plate.
Alvarez had a prolific rookie season at the plate hitting 25 home runs, the most ever hit by a rookie backstop in club history. But behind it, he struggled. The Mets were happy with the strides he made in pitch framing and footwork, but he allowed 99 stolen bases and eight passed balls, throwing out only 15.
It’s a point of emphasis for him moving forward.
“My primary focus is obviously winning — going out there and winning each and every game that we can,” Alvarez said. “But also, when I’m on the play I want to be able to limit the damage that the other teams did. I’m really focused on that, and really focused on calling a better game so we don’t give up as many runs as we did.”
Mendoza frequently lauded the Yankees team chefs for their abilities to make Venezuelan food while Alvarez’s teammates lauded him for making lasagna last season. However, for Alvarez’s first American Thanksgiving, he’s letting his mother handle the cooking, saying she’s a better cook than he is.
The Mets handed out over 7,500 turkeys across the five boroughs, helping to feed more than 61,000 people, with Alvarez passing out birds with Mr. and Mrs. Met at Part of the Solution Community Center.
“It feels good because you know that they’re gonna spend days with their families with the things that they need,” he said through Suriel. “To be able to be out here with the Mets, and to be able to help them, it feels good.”
