HARBOR ST. LUCIE – The Mets used umpires during live batting practice Thursday at Clover Park, giving them their first exposure to MLB’s new automated ball-strike system.
Francisco Álvarez had already had success with it, canceling out a ball from Jonah Tong.
Tong later lost his own challenge later in his outing.
Expect many more challenges from the Mets this spring, according to Carlos Mendoza.
When asked how the team would approach the new rule this spring, the manager said: “Be aggressive. Challenge as much as possible. We want to see who is good and who is not.” [at challenging].”
Their success rate during the spring will impact how the Mets handle the ABS during the regular season.
“We want guys to be aggressive … before we start setting guidelines and coming up with a game plan,” Mendoza said.
Francisco Lindor said he understands Steve Cohen’s decision not to have a captain, telling MLB.com on Thursday, “I respect it.”
Cohen said Monday that as long as he owns the Mets, there won’t be a player with that title.
“There will never be a captain,” Cohen said.
Lindor said Thursday he understood the move.
“This is absolutely a Steve, front-office decision,” Lindor told the site. “I respect it. At the end of the day, whether I’m captain or not, I’m still going to do the same thing. This isn’t something that’s going to make me someone else. So I respect it. I’m glad he put everything to bed so we can’t talk about it anymore. And move on.”
Over the years, Lindor, Brandon Nimmo and Pete Alonso were considered options to become the franchise’s first captain since David Wright.
When Nimmo and Alonso left the Mets last season, it was thought Lindor could get the role.
Instead, the shortstop, who has been sidelined after a procedure to treat a stress reaction to the hamate bone in his left hand, will not be Wright’s successor.
“I’m going to focus on baseball,” Lindor said. “I feel like we have leaders [without] Captains and all that stuff. The clubhouse is the clubhouse. Let’s just play baseball and focus on winning.”
Michael Tauchman will get a chance to earn playing time in right field after signing a minor league deal earlier this week.
Mendoza said the left-handed Tauchman, who spent last season with the White Sox, “will be part of the competition we have in right field.”
With Juan Soto on the left, Carson Benge may have a chance to make the team out of spring training, while Tyrone Taylor and Brett Baty will also compete for playing time.
As for Benge, who has played just 24 games at the Triple-A level, Mendoza is impressed with “his ability to control the strike zone.”
“One thing I’ve seen here in live at-bats the last few days is his ability to foul tough pitches, especially when he falls behind,” Mendoza said. “For me that is a very good sign. He can stay in the fight.”
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