Mets manager Carlos Mendoza spoke to the media before the team’s series-opener against the Giants on Thursday and spoke about a number of topics…
When to deploy Sean Manaea
Manaea’s role on the 2026 Mets is still in flux. He broke camp with the team, but as a part of the bullpen as a piggyback for the other starters. After six games, he’s appeared just once and Mendoza was asked about when the right time is for him to deploy the southpaw.
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“Ideally, I would like to find a spot for him where we could use a lot of his pitches,” Mendoza said. “Especially with a lot of the extra-inning games we’ve played here…we’ve asked the bullpen to get an extra 15 outs. That’s a lot. With Sean, the perfect scenario would be to use all of his pitches when we need to.”
The Mets have played three extra-inning games already and with their next off day not until Monday, it’s probably safe to say we’ll see Manaea some time in this four-game set with the Giants.
Mendoza and the Mets have said that they want to keep Manaea stretched out while in the bullpen if they need him to make a start, and the Mets skipper gave the parameters on how he ideally wants that to look.
In order for Manaea to use all of this pitches, as Mendoza prefers, he needs to have the southpaw throw 50-60 pitches, but admits that it’s hard to cut out time for that in the midst of game action.
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“You go in, have a gameplan…you still got to make adjustments,” Mendoza said. “We just got to wait and let it play out.”
In Manaea’s only appearance this season (March 29 vs. Pirates), Manaea tossed 29 pitches across 1.1 innings, allowing one hit while walking two batters.
Mets’ DH situation
Jorge Polanco is starting again as the team’s DH. This is the fourth game in a row that Polanco will not play the field due to a sore Achilles.
Mendoza said that Polanco is close to playing first base again, but acknowledges that the DH spot is important to his team’s composition, especially getting other players regular chances at the plate.
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“Wanted to give [Polanco] an extra day. Continues to feel better, continues to progress,” Mendoza said. “I might need the DH spot in the upcoming days for some of the other guys. That’s why I’m taking advantage of an extra day here to DH.”
New York Mets second baseman Jorge Polanco (11) hits a bloop single to help the Mets rally going in the first inning, Thursday, March 26, 2026. / Kevin R. Wexler-NorthJersey.com / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
One of those guys is Mark Vientos. While Vientos is playing first base for the second consecutive game, the right-handed slugger has had little at-bats in the early part of the season.
Entering Thursday, Vientos is 2-for-5 on the season with a double. Although the opportunities haven’t been there in the first week of the season, Mendoza says that Vientos has adjusted well to his role and continues to stay ready just like the other bench players who find themselves in the same position.
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“He knows there’s going to be opportunities there even when he’s not playing,” Mendoza said. “Perfect examples is the past couple of days when Brett Baty hasn’t been in the lineup in a game, like Yesterday he ended up getting three at-bats. The night before, he gets two, so it could happen to Mark even though their name is not on the starting lineup, that doesn’t mean they’re not going to impact the game. ..there’s a lot of different things that could continue to help us win baseball game and that’s part of the role, and they all understand that.”
Carson Benge so far
Benge made his MLB debut a week ago and after the high of homering in his first game with the Mets, the young outfielder has had his ups and downs in the early going.
He’s played in six games, started five, for the Mets so far and is 3-for-19 on the season. Mendoza was asked what he’s seen out of Benge at the plate so far.
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“He’s adjusting, learning. He’s learning as he goes, and that’s part of the development,” Mendoza said. “He’s going to get some at-bats where there’s going to be traffic. Yesterday, I decided to go with the left-on-left instead of the left-on-right. It’s part of the process. We gotta continue to support him, be right there with him and give him opportunities.”
With the left-hander Robbie Ray starting on Thursday, Benge is on the bench for the series-opener.
