WASHINGTON, D.C. - The Mets are at the stage of the season where the score can fade into the background, but the details still matter.
That was the idea Friday night as they opened their final series against the Nationals, with a nor’easter threatening the area and the possibility that one of the games might not even be played. The results themselves are close to meaningless at this point. What Andy Green is after now is information.
Since taking over in June, Green has shown a willingness to treat late-season games like a laboratory, and Friday fit that pattern. Jefry Yan got the start as an opener after throwing three perfect innings against the Orioles a week and a half earlier, and Green said not to be shocked if more unusual lineup choices show up over the next two days.
“I’m sure I’ll get more questions tomorrow when the lineup comes out,” Green said. “I think quite possibly we’ll do some things lineup-wise in the next few days that are a little bit different that might give us a little information going into the 2027 season.”
Green also tried to keep expectations in check. This is not about uncovering grand truths. It’s about squeezing whatever value remains out of a mostly empty stretch of games.
“I don’t think you’re going to find too much information out at the end of the season,” he said.
Still, there are things worth watching. One of them is Yan, whose big arm and triple-digit fastball have made him an intriguing test case. The outing against Baltimore, where he was dominant for three innings, raised the question of whether his stuff could hold up over longer work.
That answer wasn’t especially clean Friday. Yan gave up two runs on three hits, walked two and struck out one over 1 2/3 innings. But the Mets’ interest in him is obvious.
“The outing where he threw three perfect innings was almost eye opening to a degree,” Green said. “He started out at 96, 97 [and] as he got comfort finding the zone, he was up to 100 [mph] and even above 100 with strikes...
"Even when he gets hit, the encouragement to fill up the zone is there from the staff. We’re excited about it.
We’re not worried about a home run…We’re more concerned about can he fill up the zone? Can he get ahead?
And if you do that, once you get ahead, then you can throw all your expand pitches to punch guys out.”
Another player the Mets want a better read on is Ronny Mauricio. He’s expected to be in the lineup Saturday despite appearing in just one game since his Sept. 18 call-up, and Green made clear the club wants more exposure to major-league pitching before making any broader judgments.
Mauricio’s path has been complicated since the knee injury he suffered in December 2023 cost him a year of baseball. He was then essentially parked on the major-league roster late in 2025 to preserve an option, which has left him with limited playing time.
The Mets don’t need another middle infielder right now. They do need answers.
“He can defend the field,” Green said of Mauricio. “His impact has to exceed his chase or his chase has to be reduced if he wants to be a productive big leaguer for a long time.”
Green pointed to Mariners outfielder Julio Rodriguez as an example of a player with a chase issue who still brings enough offensive force to matter. He was not comparing Mauricio directly to Rodriguez, but he was making the point that there are different ways forward for a hitter like Mauricio.
“You can’t have an easy-to-find chase pattern that guys can exploit,” Green said. “Ronny has enough strength and power for that to be the case for him, so there are kind of two paths forward - one is control the chase, get guys in the zone, but the other is demolish baseballs at such a rate that it doesn’t hamper you that badly.”
There was one thing Friday that did count in a more permanent way: Carson Benge’s solo homer in the fifth, which made him the first rookie in franchise history to go 20-20.
And there should be more to watch from here, with Saturday’s lineup and the final two starts from Sean Manaea and Jonah Tong still to come. Even in a stretch where the points may not matter, the Mets are still looking for something they can use.
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It is not the kind of banner anyone hangs from the outfield rafters, but it says something about how often the Mets have had catchers who could erase would-be base stealers. The numbers attached to those seasons have landed in a fairly tight band, and the list spans different eras of the franchise, which makes the whole thing even more unusual. For a club that has had plenty of memorable catcher debates, this is one stat line that has somehow turned into a recurring specialty. [Read more 🡒]