Amidst a dry spell from the majority of his big bats, Mets manager Carlos Mendoza dropped Juan Soto from his usual No. 2 spot in the lineup to No. 3 for Wednesday’s series finale against the Boston Red Sox at Fenway Park.
“Trying to shuffle some things around,” Mendoza said. “I’m not a guy that likes to overreact. I like consistency, give guys chances. I just felt today was a day to move guys around, especially guys at the top.”
Facing one of the top pitchers in the American League in southpaw Garrett Crochet, Mendoza moved veteran DH Starling Marte up to the No. 2 spot while moving Pete Alonso down to the clean-up role.
“It makes my decision a lot easier when I go up to someone like Pete Alonso and say ‘Hey man, this is what I’m thinking,’ and he’s like ‘I’m all up for it,'” Mendoza began. “Soto, ‘This is what I’m thinking.’ He’s like ‘Whatever you need, skip.’ It makes my job a lot easier when I’m making those decisions.”
Soto, who is batting .156 over his last nine games, is just one of New York’s big names who has been mired in a significant slump.
Alonso is batting .157 (8-for-51) with a .416 OPS, zero home runs, and four RBI in his last 13 games. Francisco Lindor is 2-for-25 in his last seven games with a pair of RBI. Brandon Nimmo is 0-for-his-last-15, and Mark Vientos is 2-for-his-last-16.
Over their last seven games heading into Wednesday night, the Mets had not scored more than three runs once and were shut out twice during that span.
