Mets skipper Carlos Mendoza met with reporters on Monday night as his club starts a pivotal seven-game homestand, the final seven regular season games at Citi Field in 2024.
While Mendoza was able to breathe a big sigh of relief knowing that there was good news on the Francisco Lindor front, the manager also touched on a few other topics ahead of Monday night’s matchup with the Washington Nationals.
Starling Marte Update
The veteran outfielder has been out of the lineup since taking a 98 mph pitch off of his forearm on Saturday night against the Phillies, and while he’s not starting on Monday night, Marte could soon be making his return to the field.
“Good, better,” Mendoza responded when asked how Marte was feeling. “I think he’s going to be a player for us at some point if we need him.”
Marte had two hits and had reached base four times on Saturday before exiting in the eighth inning.
Kodai Senga‘s upcoming bullpen session
As SNY MLB Insider Andy Martino has previously reported, the Mets are optimistic that Senga can return to the mound this season, potentially either in the penultimate series against Atlanta, or the final series in Milwaukee.
According to Mendoza, Senga is scheduled to throw a bullpen session on Tuesday, and the team will move forward from there once they see how he comes out of it.
“I talked to him earlier, he’s feeling good,” Mendoza said, “so we’ll see what’s next after tomorrow.”
Message to the club
With 13 games to play, the Mets are tied with the Atlanta Braves for the third and final NL Wild Card spot. They’re also 2.0 games back of the Arizona Diamondbacks and 3.5 games behind the San Diego Padres.
Mendoza was asked what his message to his team has been as they find themselves in the thick of the playoff hunt here in mid-September.
“Enjoy it, embrace it. That’s what you signed up for,” Mendoza said. “This is what you dream. Before the year we said ‘Hey, we want to compete. We’ve got a good team.’ Here we are. We have a special opportunity. We just have to embrace it. We have to enjoy it, doing it here in New York in front of our fan base, that’s special.
“You come to the ballpark knowing that you’re playing for something big every day. You signed up for that. So, don’t try to do too much. I just want those guys to go out there and be themselves, have fun, and go get it. Go take it from them.”
