Carlos Mendoza doesn’t have many problems as the manager of a team that moved to 19 games above .500, the Mets’ best mark of the season after scoring a come-from-behind walk-off win over the Washington Nationals on Tuesday night.
And to make the other 29 big-league managers green with envy, some of the problems he has are what he calls “good problems.”
One such conundrum is figuring out how to balance the playing time for a pair of young, versatile infielders in Ronny Mauricio and Luisangel Acuña.
In Tuesday’s win, Mauricio got the start at third base and Acuña had to wait til the final play of the game to leave his mark on the win. In the end, the Mets are managing to have their cake and eat it too.
Here’s what the manager had to say about the situation before the series opener…
On Mauricio’s play so far
Despite missing significant time of development, and going 20 months and two days between his last big league appearances after sustaining an ACL tear and his first game last week against the Dodgers, Mendoza said the 24-year-old has performed “definitely better” than expected since his call-up from Triple-A.
“He’s very consistent, he doesn’t get too high or too low, especially after a tough start in LA, where they pitch him tough,” the manager said before Tuesday’s game. “Going to Colorado and having a really good series. Just overall the way he goes about his business.”
“I think I’ve finally gotten into the rhythm of things,” Mauricio said before the game, speaking through an interpreter. “I’m not all the way there yet, but, but as the games have been going on, I feel like I’m starting to get it a little more.”
It was a difficult night for the youngster, striking out twice as he went hitless in three times up, and he is now 5-for-22 (.227) in six games since his call-up with two walks to seven strikeouts.
Mendoza added he liked how Mauricio is moving defensively and giving the Mets versatility with his ability to play shortstop, his natural position, and third base.
“Good hands, angles to the ball, very good arm,” he said about Mauricio at short. “Third base is kinda a newer position for him, and he’s looked fine there, as well, coming in on slow rollers.
“Overall, I think for a guy that missed so much time and [had a] pretty significant injury, he’s handled it very good here.”
Mauricio credited all the work he did to get to this point has given him the confidence to perform and deal with adjusting to the majors.
“And now that I am at this point, it’s because I belong here,” he said. “So obviously there’s an adjustment period, and, there’s a moment where we have to adapt. But, at the moment, I feel good and I feel like we put in a lot of good work to be here.”
On keeping Acuña involved
Acuña, who was not in the starting lineup on Tuesday night, has started just eight of the last 25 games. However, he entered for the bottom half of the 10th as a pinch-runner and scored the winning run, and has now appeared in 22 of those games because of his ability to impact in the later innings off the bench.
Mendoza said this is all part of the balance that the Mets are dealing with and he’d rather have the youngster here than playing each day at Triple-A.
“He’s got a role right now, he’s helping us win a baseball game here,” the skipper said. “We’re always trying to put that on the table and say, ‘What’s best for the kid?’ ‘What’s best for the team?’ and right now, we feel like he continues to contribute.”
But in this situation, chances at the plate are hard to come by as he has just 15 in his last 15 games (three starts) and he has two hits in those games. Of course, New York is 12-2 over that span.
Not only that, but with Francisco Lindor dealing with a broken pinky toe that is still causing him discomfort, having an extra guy to play shortstop – even had Lindor been healthy – is something Mendoza sees value in having around.
“He’s a plus defender, the speed off the bench. He allows me to make some in-game moves,” he said. “We’ll continue to watch this situation, but in the meantime, he’s helping us at the big-league level.”
While the opportunities to play and start may not be that often, when Acuña is not in the lineup, the Mets are keeping him very active.
“In Acuña’s case, when he’s not in the lineup, hitting extra off the velo machine, hitting off the iPitch where it’s random BP, continue to improve his bunting game, with Antoan [Richardson] working on base stealing, base running, defensively in the outfield, with [Mike Sarbaugh] in the infield,” Mendoza said. “By being here at the big-league level, just learning from the other guys how they go about their business and watching the game.
“And after a game, we’ll sit down and talk through some situations. So there’s a lot of different ways we are attacking this and we will continue to help him.”
Mendoza praised the Mets’ coaching staff for continuing to coach and teach, not only the younger guys but the entire squad. “There’s always teaching moments and then there’s situations where you could go over and continue to coach,” he said.
In the end, a decision will have to be made as Mark Vientos nears a rehab assignment, as he is set to come off the IL.
“It’ll play itself out whether the playing time comes here or not, but, as he’s a big league player,” Mendoza said of Acuña. “Our job is to continue to help him, educate him, teach him, and then we’ll go from there.”
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