PHOENIX, ARIZONA – MAY 05: Manager Carlos Mendoza #64 of the New York Mets watches from the dugout during the fifth inning of the MLB game against the Arizona Diamondbacks at Chase Field on May 05, 2025 in Phoenix, Arizona. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images)
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The New York Mets are trying to bounce back from one of the most disappointing seasons in recent memory.
As the team’s executives and coaches gather in Orlando for the Major League Baseball Winter Meetings, they have been forced to do a bit of damage control after a highly anticipated season devolved into a playoff miss.
President of baseball operations David Stearns has been repeatedly asked about what free agent or trade additions he is looking to make to ensure a better outcome next season. And manager Carlos Mendoza has evaluated his own performance from last season as “not good enough.”
But there was at least one criticism that Mendoza wasn’t willing to embrace after the team’s harsh year.
The manager was asked about his bullpen management and ability to keep relievers healthy after a former player turned podcast host, Adam Ottavino, argued that he was the cause of a string of injuries to the unit.
“I think he is a really good under-the-stress manager, I think he has no idea what he’s doing when it comes to bullpen guys and how to keep them healthy or even how to care about them at all,” Ottavino said during a recent episode of his “Baseball & Coffee” podcast. “So they have to figure out something, whether it’s their protocols, whether it’s the way Carlos uses these dudes so haphazardly, whether they even care about keeping the guys healthy or not, but they need to be better than this.”
During a media session from the Winter Meetings on Monday, though, Mendoza fired back on the idea that the Mets are doing anything wrong with their bullpen management.
“We were probably one of the teams that protected the bullpen guys better than anybody,” Mendoza told reporters, per SNY. “I don’t think this is a Mets issue… I feel pretty comfortable in saying that we are one of the better teams that protect their relievers.”
The Mets endured a laundry list of pitcher injuries in this past season, with relievers AJ Minter, Reed Garrett, Dedniel Nunez and others all missing time. However, the team was hardly alone in its struggles to keep pitchers healthy.
As a former Mets reliever himself, Ottavino might be particularly sensitive to the injury risks that his ex-teammates face. And as he looks to instill confidence and guide his team back to the playoffs next season, Mendoza might be particularly sensitive to such pointed criticism from a former player of his.
