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By Drew VonScio
Contributing Sports Writer
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One position of need for the New York Mets this winter is in the bullpen, and signing them this winter may have just gotten more complicated.
Former Mets reliever Adam Ottavino, who pitched for the organization in 2022, was recently very critical about manager Carlos Mendoza and his bullpen usage. This could put a damper on negotiations this winter for the top free agents, such as Edwin Diaz, as they may now look to avoid signing for the organization.
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“There’s a lot of pressure on a lot of guys to play even when they feel a little compromised,” Ottavino said on the "Baseball and Coffee" podcast. “And the manager, 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. There’s no communication there, there’s no feel there, there’s no bedside manner when guys get hurt.
This is something that really upsets me deep in my soul. (The Mets) 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. They need to be better than this.”
Ottavino didn't mince words when speaking about Mendoza. Pitching injuries derailed the season this year for the Mets, but that was more of an issue with the starting rotation rather than the bullpen. However, that doesn't mean free agents may be even less likely to sign after connecting the dots.
In his lone season with the Mets, Ottavino made 60 appearances with the team over the course of the 162-game season, about one appearance every three games. His complaint likely happens around the league as well with other teams, and Ottavino revealed why he spoke directly about the Mets.
"In a follow-up call with The Athletic, Ottavino said that Mendoza is a good manager in most every other aspect of the job, and that he doesn’t view the Mets’ bullpen deployment as unique in a sport that values efficiency and doesn’t mind constant roster churn," Will Sammon and Tim Britton wrote for The Athletic. "He singled the Mets out for criticism, he said, because of his first-hand experience there."
This offseason is going to be very important for the Mets, but it remains to be seen if (or how) Ottavino's message impacts the team's ability to sign high-end relievers this winter.
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