Inside Carlos Mendoza’s Mets Camp Briefing: Rotation Depth, Young Arms, and Timing Bichette

There are certain sites and sounds in spring training that signal baseball is officially alive again, the pop of a fastball in a catcher’s mitt, the sound of a fungo bat, and the unmistakable cadence of a manager standing at a podium explaining, in calm baseball speak, why everything is both encouraging and cautiously monitored.

On Friday, Carlos Mendoza stepped into that role, delivering a wide-ranging briefing that touched on pitching health, roster development, defensive progress, and even the tempo of a certain new infielder’s double-play turns. It was equal parts reassurance and reality check which is exactly what mid-February is supposed to be.

One of the first topics centered on the uneven season Sean Manaea endured last year. Mendoza didn’t sugarcoat the origin story.

“I think you can look back from the very beginning first few weeks of camp — somewhere around this time where he mentioned that oblique injury,” Mendoza said. “It took him a while to get back on the field and I don’t think he ever got to a place that he felt that he was the guy that we saw in 2024.”

That lingering disruption, Mendoza explained, snowballed once Manaea returned to major-league action under pressure.

“By the time he got to the big leagues he’s in the middle of a pennant race. It’s not easy. It’s not easy. So I think that’s where it starts for me — from the very beginning, dealing with health issues.”

The tone shifted, though, to cautious optimism.

“Good thing he’s healthy now. Had a very good offseason. And I’m really looking forward to watching him pitch.”

From there Mendoza broadened the lens to the entire rotation — and this is where managers tend to either whisper sweet nothings or start speaking in fire-and-brimstone. Mendoza chose appreciation.

“Everything you mentioned — depth, quality. We got righties, lefties, a lot of different arsenals… Guys that have done it before,” he said, pointing to contributions from multiple arms and the addition of new depth pieces. “You like the depth, you like the quality. So there’s a lot to like there.”

It’s February, of course. Every rotation looks like the 90's Braves right now. But Mendoza’s enthusiasm seemed grounded in the variety of options rather than blind optimism.

Young pitcher Jonah Tong drew particular attention as he navigates his first full big-league camp experience.

“People forget that. He made his major league debut last year in the middle of a pennant race,” Mendoza said. “I want him to enjoy it. I want him to learn as much as possible… and I want him to go out there and be himself.”

The developmental checklist remains straightforward.

“We know the fastball. We know the changeup. He’s working on a cutter… working on the secondary pitches… I want him to go out there and continue to develop all of his pitches, compete, and prepare for his year. He’s gonna pitch for us, and we’re gonna need him.”

Tong and Tobias Myers both logged early work that caught the manager’s attention.

“The life on the fastball on both of them was pretty good,” Mendoza said. “They’re working on their secondary pitches and just getting feedback from the hitters too. That feedback is important so again, good session for both of them.”

For Tong, Mendoza emphasized the inevitable learning curve that comes with expanding an arsenal.

“That comes with experience just knowing the fastball plays, the changeup plays, but you also have some other weapons there. The more that he takes the baseball, he’ll get those.”

And while the early workload is encouraging, Mendoza sounded like a man who knows exactly how many MRI machines exist in the tri-state area.

“It’s a good place to be in, but we gotta continue to be mindful,” he said. “Communication is gonna be super important how are they recovering every time they touch the mound we need these guys healthy.”

World Baseball Classic participants remain on track in their preparation, something Mendoza credited to offseason diligence.

“These are guys that kept throwing credit to the pitching group putting together the program to make sure that when they got to the spot they were in a good place.”

Behind the plate, Mendoza highlighted defensive growth from Francisco Alvarez following last season’s reset in Triple-A.

“It was a huge improvement in his overall game,” he said. “The receiving, the blocking was a lot better, the throwing, the game calling after he spent those weeks down there, it was kind of like a reset.”

He also reaffirmed Alvarez’s standing while jokingly acknowledging the need to rein in enthusiasm.

“He’s our guy in a good place right now. We are going to be mindful with him as well. He wants to take 200 swings a day he wants to catch every side and we’re gonna have to pull him back.”

Roster construction decisions loom elsewhere, particularly with Ronny Mauricio’s development.

“Playing time is gonna be important for him it’s all about his development. He missed a whole year,” Mendoza said. “Right now he’s just happy to be in camp healthy without any restrictions he’s gonna get an opportunity but when we make those decisions, that’s gonna be a factor.”

Versatility headlines the appeal of MJ Melendez as he competes for a role.

“The versatility is what comes to mind,” Mendoza said. “Outfield, first base, emergency catcher a lefty bat with some pop. I think there’s more in the tank… he’s gonna get an opportunity here and I’m excited to have him.”

And then there was the stopwatch moment the kind of detail that makes spring training wonderfully, gloriously granular. Mendoza monitored Bo Bichette’s infield timing during drills.

“It’s a pretty common drill just to get a feel for the timing,” he explained. “There were plays where he thought he was super slow and I gave him the numbers… Same thing on the double play. So it was a very good session today — the tempo overall a good day of work for Bo.”

Which, in mid-February, is the foundation work that doesn’t make highlights but wins games later. No standings, no box scores, just the steady assembling of a season pitch counts, feedback loops, and stopwatches measuring fractions of seconds that will someday feel enormous in October.

For now, Mendoza sounded like a manager pleased with the direction but aware of the calendar.

A lot to like. A lot to monitor. And a lot of baseball still to come.