Monday, September 28

Welcome back to the Mets Beat newsletter! Anthony DiComo has covered the Mets for MLB.com since 2007, including the past 17 seasons full-time on the beat.

ANAHEIM -- As the Mets trudge their way through a nine-game road trip out West, trying to do anything possible to reestablish themselves even as fringe contenders, they recognize that the path before them is not going to be smooth. Short of ripping off a double-digit win streak in the near future, the Mets have created a situation in which they’ve lost much of their fanbase’s goodwill. Earning it back will be a challenge.

Their first three games out West, at least, provided some clarity on several issues … both for better and for worse.

Carlos Mendoza’s job is safe for now

The Mets have a two-day streak going in which no one around the team has asked Mendoza about his job status.

That’s in large part thanks to David Stearns, who told MLB.com on Friday that Mendoza’s seat is secure. While Stearns stopped short of guaranteeing that Mendoza would be the manager for the rest of the season, he at least put to rest speculation that a firing could come anytime soon -- speculation that had clearly begun infiltrating the clubhouse and affecting Mendoza on a personal level.

If the Mets keep on losing, talk will of course continue regarding the job statuses of both Mendoza, who is under contract only through this season, and Stearns, who has two more guaranteed years after this one. But the daily distraction, at least, has dissipated, even as losses continue to pile up for the Mets.

Shortstop is “fluid”

That’s the word Mendoza used to describe the position after Ronny Mauricio fractured his left thumb on Saturday, joining starting shortstop Francisco Lindor on the injured list the following morning. Mauricio won’t return until mid-to-late June. Lindor should be back sooner, but his timeline remains undefined -- maybe late May in a best-case scenario, but probably June for him as well. So the Mets are going to be without their top two shortstops for the next month or so.

In the meantime, Bo Bichette figures to receive most of the work at shortstop, his natural position. That’s not an issue. The issue is that playing Bichette at short means the Mets must use Brett Baty at third base on a regular basis, which means they must also use Mark Vientos at first. And neither of those players were hitting much until Vientos slugged a pair of home runs Sunday. The Mets need more of that.

They also need more from Bichette, who singled twice on Sunday. If he and Vientos start hitting, this whole situation looks a lot better.

The Mets aren’t hitting fastballs

Entering Sunday’s play, the Mets ranked 27th in the Majors in expected slugging percentage against four-seam, two-seam and cut fastballs. On four-seamers alone, the Mets were 29th in the league in expected slug. On four-seamers above 95 mph, they were also 29th.

While the Mets ran through similar struggles at points last season, they still finished among the league’s better fastball-hitting teams. And while their 2026 lineup is clearly different, newcomers such as Bichette and Marcus Semien haven’t historically been slouches at hitting hard stuff.

So what gives?

“I don’t anticipate that being an ongoing issue,” Stearns said last week. “We have hitters who have hit velocity throughout their careers. I don’t believe that all of them are going to struggle against velocity.”

In Stearns’ opinion, the problem may be mental for a team that has struggled to hit in nearly every situation -- bases empty, runners in scoring position, fastballs, breaking balls, you name it. In recent weeks, the fastball narrative has begun to gain some traction, which could be worming its way into the minds of Mets hitters.

“There’s some psychological effect when you’re not scoring runs and you’re pressing a little bit and you’re trying to do too much and you’re geared up for a fastball and you can’t quite get it, and that compounds upon itself,” Stearns said. “That’s possible. Really tough for me to explain. Certainly, guys are aware of it. We have some pretty good fastball hitters, and I think we’re going to hit fastballs.”

“It’s something that we’ll continue to work through here,” Mendoza added. “We’re missing some good fastballs to hit. I know everybody’s aware of it. Guys are talking about it. They’re working on it. We’ve just got to go out and get the job done.”

Who is the only pitcher with at least four career games started for the Mets at Coors Field and an ERA under 4.00 in those starts? 

A) Jacob deGrom

B) Matt Harvey

C) Al Leiter

D) Mike Pelfrey

• The Mets rewarded Luis Torrens for being “one of the best, if not the best backup catchers in the league,” as his manager put it, giving him a two-year, $11.5 million contract extension that runs through the 2028 season. Between Torrens and Francisco Alvarez, the Mets should be set at catcher for years. 

• Did you see the one where David Wright rated hot dogs? Do I even need to give you another reason to click? 

• Pete Alonso returned to New York last weekend for the first time since signing with the Orioles. At Yankee Stadium, Alonso homered on his first swing. He also spent time talking about how his Mets tenure concluded, noting that he and Mets brass never touched base at the end of his free agency. This, from our Orioles reporter Jake Rill, is worth a read. 

D) Pelfrey 

Pelfrey produced a 3.47 ERA over four career starts with the Mets at Coors Field. No one else with four starts there has an ERA under 4.91. 

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