The Mets designated a reliever Jorge López for the assignment, reports Joel Sherman of the New York Post (link X). The action comes after the right-hander threw his glove into the stands following a bad outing this afternoon against the Dodgers. After the game, López said he didn't regret the incident and called the Mets “the worst team in almost all f***ing MLB” (video provided to X by SNY).
López, a native of Puerto Rico, conducted his post-match media scrum in English. While it wasn't clear at first if he intended to call the Mets the “worst team” in the league or if he called himself the “worst teammate,” he responded “maybe” to a follow-up question when asked if he called the Mets the “worst team”. the worst team.” Anthony DiComo of MLB.com tweets that López later revealed that he intended to criticize himself and the club — calling himself the worst teammate on the worst team in the league.
The Mets may have been more prepared to move on from López even before his comments. Called up to play in the eighth inning with the team trailing 5-3, he gave up two runs Miguel Vargas which inherited a pair of runners. López retired Mookie Betts before serving up a two-run homer Shohei Ohtani. He was sent off in the next game after arguing with third umpire Ramon De Jesus over a check turn. López flipped his glove over the protective netting as he left the field. After the game, manager Carlos Mendoza called López's behavior “unacceptable” and said the team would discuss it internally (video from SNY).
A veteran of nine MLB seasons, López signed a $2MM free agent contract with the Mets in December. However in the afternoon, he had a number of restrictions in use. In 26 1/3 innings, he earned a 3.76 earned run average. López only struck out 17.2% of opponents while walking about 10% of the batters he faced. While he probably wouldn't have been let go if it weren't for today's glove and postgame comments, it wasn't an impressive performance either.
López was an All-Star with the Orioles back in 2022, when he turned in a 1.68 ERA with 19 saves in 48 1/3 frames in Baltimore. The O's traded him to the Twins at the deadline. López's production declined after the deal, as he turned in a 4.81 ERA in Minnesota. He continued to struggle after being traded to the Marlins last summer and after returning to Baltimore late in the season.
The Mets are riding a three-game losing streak and have dropped 19 of 26 this month. They are a season-worst 11 games under .500 and trail only the Rockies and Marlins in the National League. The bullpen entered play today with a 4.42 ERA in May, ranking 21st in MLB. They lost the struggle Edwin Díaz on the injured list before the game. Adam Ottavino, Reed Garrett again Jake Diekman they are doing a great job.
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