Carlos Mendoza didn’t sound like a manager spewing false optimism this week when he was asked what excited him most about the Mets.
During six weeks of spring training, many of the rookie manager’s perceptions about the team were validated: The Mets have proven hitters. The starting rotation, while not flashy, has a higher floor than many. The bullpen has a healthy Edwin Diaz.
Mostly, Mendoza sees a 162-game marathon and the waves of personnel it will take to survive such a grind.
“I’m looking at that team that is going to be down at Triple-A and some of the guys that are going to be down at Double-A, because you know you are going to need all of them to get through 162-plus and that is exciting,” Mendoza said. “Not only the 26 guys active for Opening Day, but what’s down there is encouraging.”
The franchise’s latest new chapter will begin Friday, when the Mets are scheduled to face the Brewers in the season opener at Citi Field.
For the second straight year the Mets on Thursday had their first home game postponed by the threat of weather.
For the second straight year that threat never materialized.
Even so, Friday’s forecast is for sunnier skies than a day earlier.
After a winter in which new president of baseball operations David Stearns focused mainly on improving the organization’s infrastructure and creating a pathway for younger players to contribute, the Mets will begin the season far removed from NL East title talk.
The Braves are the consensus favorite to win a seventh straight division title and the Phillies have built from the nucleus of a team that has advanced deep into the postseason the last two years.
But in this era of three wild cards in each league, a “why not us?” mentality began pervading the clubhouse in spring training, and the Mets can use the last two NL pennant winners, the Phillies and Diamondbacks, as inspiration.
And that talk had surfaced even before the Mets signed J.D. Martinez late in camp to a one-year contract worth $12 million.
The veteran DH will begin the season building up at-bats for at least 10 days in the minor leagues, placing him in position to join the Mets as soon as a week from Sunday in Cincinnati.
Mendoza, a former Yankees bench coach, is the Mets’ third manager in their last four openers.
The Mets hired the 44-year-old Mendoza after firing Buck Showalter at the conclusion of last season with one year remaining on his contract. Luis Rojas preceded Showalter as Mets manager.
Other storylines for Opening Day at Citi Field:
Is this Pete Alonso playing his final opener with the Mets?
Negotiations between the Mets and the All-Star first baseman never materialized in the offseason, leaving Alonso on course to reach free agency after the season. Team owner Steve Cohen said in spring training that he’s not concerned about the situation, noting the team allowed Brandon Nimmo and Diaz to reach free agency before re-signing them.
Diaz’s return
The electricity that was missing from Citi Field last season with the absence of trumpets blaring could return Friday. If the Mets carry a lead into the ninth inning, expect to see Diaz for the save. He was last seen on a mound in Queens in October 2022, during the NL wild-card series. Diaz spent all of last season rehabbing from March surgery to repair a torn patellar tendon in his right knee that he sustained during a celebration at the World Baseball Classic.
Quintana’s chance
After it became evident Kodai Senga would begin the season on the IL rehabbing from a shoulder strain, Mendoza aligned his rotation to give Quintana the start in the opener. The lefty was dependable for the Mets in the final two months of last season, after returning from rib surgery, but hardly falls into the mode of a traditional Opening Day ace. The Mets had a similar scenario two years ago, when Tylor Megill was thrust into starting the opener.