Mets manager Carlos Mendoza spoke to reporters before Saturday’s game against the Chicago Cubs and gave some updates on the team…
Jose Siri getting closer to return
Mets outfielder Jose Siri, who’s on the IL due to a fractured tibia, is making good progress and could be getting closer to starting a rehab.
“Definitely progressing a lot quicker than I was or we were anticipating,” Mendoza said. “I didn’t think he was going to be able to do some running and already hitting in the cages, tee, toss, playing catch, doing some light sprints there.
“As far as when do we anticipate [him returning], it’s hard for me [to say]. But he’s moving, he’s progressing a lot quicker.”
Siri suffered the injury on April 13 against the Athletics after fouling a ball off of his shin. Since he’s been out, the Mets have gone with a combination of Tyrone Taylor (26 starts, 31 games total), José Azócar (three games), and more recently, Jeff McNeil (three games) in center field.
Siri played in just 10 games and struggled offensively with just one hit before getting hurt. He did walk four times and stole two bases.
Brett Baty continuing to make positive strides
Baty returned to the bigs this week with Jesse Winker heading to the IL and has been making the most of his playing time.
The 25-year-old went 0-for-4 in his first game on Wednesday, but flipped a switch Friday night with a two-hit performance, including his second home run of the season. Mendoza was asked if he’d like to have Baty play a handful of games consecutively and said he’s trying to balance that with getting everybody else involved.
“I definitely wanna continue to get him going, but also my job as a manager is to put guys in a position where we feel they’re going to have success,” Mendoza said. “If I feel like we’re better off playing some of the other guys and giving him a day, it’s not so much about Brett Baty, it’s putting other guys in a position where we’re like, ‘Hey, we like that matchup.’ Yes, having the understanding that we might benefit from giving this guy a little bit of leeway and letting him play.
“It’s a balance and you’re trying to keep everyone sharp. I feel like we now have a really good rotation going with the position players, all thirteen of them. And Brett Baty’s a huge part of that. It will continue to be a day-to-day thing.”
Defensively, Mendoza has all the confidence in the former top prospect who’s shown his versatility playing 2B in addition to his natural 3B.
“I thought last year he was really good,” Mendoza said. “He’s very athletic for a guy his size. I’m very comfortable playing him at second base. And then you watch him take balls at short, just BP right, and he’s very athletic. That goes to show you that not only the footwork, he’s got good hands, he’s got the ability to throw on the run from different angles. But he’s got the ability to adjust, too. Defensively, he’s pretty good.”
He added on how to help Baty continue his development: “Don’t let him get comfortable. We want him comfortable with the environment, but not comfortable playing a big league game. There’s always challenges. You got to bring your A-game. I think that’s part of our job, not only as manager but as coaches, it’s not as easy as you’re making it look right now.
“It’s just finding the consistency, don’t get too high, don’t get too low. I think that’s the next step when you’re talking about development. Not only just the result, but how you’re going to go about your business day in and day out. That’s what we’re trying to do here.”
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