There are millions of ways to make a lineup. How does Carlos Mendoza choose?: Q&A

New York Times

10-07-2025

BALTIMORE — Every day of the major-league season, Carlos Mendoza has 259,459,200 possible ways to construct his lineup and batting order. And every day of the major-league season, Mendoza chooses exactly one of them.
Building a lineup is one of a manager's central jobs. How he goes about it highlights some of his most important skills, including communication, adaptability and delegation.
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In Mendoza's season and a half at the helm of the Mets, he's made several critical decisions when it comes to the lineup and the batting order. Last year, he swapped in Mark Vientos for Brett Baty in May and Tyrone Taylor for Harrison Bader by the postseason. He jump-started the offense and his star player by moving Francisco Lindor to the leadoff spot in mid-May.
This year, Mendoza has juggled a plethora of similar options at different positions, finding time for Baty, Vientos, Ronny Mauricio, Taylor and Jeff McNeil at second base, third base and center field. He's shifted off his Opening Day order, initially by moving Juan Soto from second to third in the lineup, then by bumping Lindor down from the leadoff spot to second. Both times, it's helped spark production from the player and the lineup as a whole.
At a time when every day brings something else to consider, I sat down with Mendoza to discuss lineup construction. How much does he ponder it, what factors go into 'matchups' and how important is a batting order, really? The conversation has been lightly edited, condensed and annotated.
We talked on Wednesday before the Mets' game with the Orioles was rained out.
How far in advance are you thinking of your daily lineup? It's Wednesday. I assume you have Thursday's done. Are you looking at Friday and Saturday yet?
So, I start two series in advance. We have an idea of (the pitchers) we're facing in the three against Baltimore and the next three against the Royals. In my head, I'm thinking whether I need to give someone off in this stretch or if I'm going to ride the everyday guys all the way through, especially if we're in the middle of a 13- or 14-game stretch. Then, I might look ahead and say there's a tough righty, that might be a good day for a right-handed hitter (to sit). Or a tough lefty for a left-handed hitter. That's how I start.
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But as far as writing out a lineup, the last call I make is the night before. So before this series, I knew the three (opposing starters). I knew the lineup for Game 1, I had an idea for Game 2 and potentially Game 3. But there's always a couple of adjustments. You're between one guy or another, and one might need a day. The catchers with the day game, which is the best or the worst matchup? I'm going to play Luis (Torrens) in the first game and then which one between the last two; which one makes the most sense?
With the catchers, what goes into the matchup? Is it how he works with his own pitcher or how he matches up with the opposing pitcher as a hitter?
Because our two catchers are very good defensively, they're elite receivers, they control the running game, they have the ability to handle the pitching staff, I don't want to create favorites. Credit to the pitching staff: Out of respect, I usually go to the guys and ask which one they prefer, and they say they're fine with any of the catchers. It's more matchups. What's the best matchup for (Hayden) Senger? What are the two best for Luis?
When you talk about riding your everyday guys, what tells you that they need a day during those longer stretches? What do you look out for?
As a manager, when you have players like Pete Alonso, right now I'm to the point where I don't even go up to him anymore because he wants to play. Lindor's the same way. Nimmo. Soto. So, for me, it's a lot easier.
Now that we get in this temperature where it's hot and humid, (I look at) how much they're running the bases, how much they're running in the outfield or infield. I check with the trainers and check with the coaches. Have the hitting coaches seen anything in the cages behind the scenes? I use the coaches to give me some input or feedback to how certain guys are feeling. Because, as the manager, when I go up to them, they're always going to say they're good. But they might say something to a coach, like their shoulder is barking a little bit. I want that without losing their trust with the coaches.
With the everyday guys, I've created a routine where after every game, I go up to them and I check with them. Now I know, they're never going to tell me they need an off-day, but their response — 'I'm good' or 'I'm feeling it, but I'm good' — I have a better idea of where they're coming from that allows me to make the last call.
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How long did it take you to develop that idea with each of them?
It took me quite a bit last year, because I didn't know any of the players. I didn't know Lindor. I didn't know Nimmo. I didn't know Pete. This year with Soto. I feel like I got there a lot quicker with Soto. I got information from his previous teams, and he was pretty honest with me from the beginning.
Like (last year), I took Lindor out of the lineup on a night where I needed to wait until the next morning to see how he was feeling. I don't know if he was feeling sick or something,* and I sent out the lineup the night before, like I usually do, to the players, and I didn't give him a chance to wake up. So, I learned my lesson. Man, this guy wants me to give him every chance. So, now, with situations like that, instead of me sending out the lineup, I'll just tell the guys I know are playing that they're playing and that I'm waiting on the other guys before sending the final lineup.
* This was last May, when Lindor left a game against the Cubs with flu-like symptoms. He didn't start the next game but came off the bench to go 2-for-3 with two two-run doubles, including the walk-off winner.
So whenever a guy goes home at the end of the night, he knows whether he's in the lineup the next day?
Right. Yeah, 99.9 percent of the time, they know whether they're playing or not.
When you decide to move Soto from second to third, or Lindor from leadoff to second, how long are you generally thinking about moves like that? What makes you decide this is the time to do it?
I'm always thinking. I'm trying to get ahead. What will this combination look like? How can we benefit from moving this guy? What are the pluses, what are the negatives, if any? I wrestle with a lot of ideas and information, and then, obviously, I'll ask the players what they think. You check the temperature and their reaction. It's a lot easier when your superstars are willing to do whatever it takes.
You've got that top four penciled in every day. The bottom five have been shuffled more. How do you decide how to structure that group?
That's a conversation you have with all of them. We've got 13 really good players, and only nine of them can play. I was very upfront and clear with them. If I pinch hit for you, that doesn't mean I don't trust you. We have someone where the matchup is in our favor. If your name is not in the starting lineup, it's because we like that particular matchup for the other guy. That doesn't mean you're not going to have an impact. You might get a huge at-bat coming off the bench. They understand that.
We've got some lefties. We've got some righties. It allows me to play around with some of the versatility that I have.
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When you talk about matchups, I think most fans look at that as righty/lefty. How thoroughly are you looking at a pitcher's style and things like that?
It's not just the righty/lefty. We've seen it where there are a lot of right-handed pitchers that are better against lefties; they're a reverse split. So why are they reverse? Is it a changeup or what kind of fastball do they throw? Does it have ride? Does it have sink?
So it's not just righty/lefty. It's more like pitch type, swing plane, how certain swings play against certain pitches, case rate and strike zone discipline. There's a lot* that goes into it.
* For instance, earlier this season, Mendoza would often start Starling Marte over Jesse Winker against right-handed pitchers who relied on cutters — a pitch that Winker has struggled against the last few seasons.
How much are you looking at the other team's bullpen and what they might do late in games, especially against that part of the order?
That goes into it, too. But it depends on who you're playing. If you're playing the Phillies, you know they're going to ride their starters, and you have to put together your best lineup to get to their starter. But there are also teams that like to play the matchups as early as the fourth or fifth, so you have to stay away from giving them an easy pocket or lane for their bullpen. If you stack the lefties to get to the starter, that might be an easy lane for a bullpen.
Today, you moved Mauricio above Torrens. What goes into a small decision like that?
They only have one lefty (in the bullpen), in (Gregory) Soto. They only have one bullet like that, and after that, it's a bunch of righties. So, I just wanted another lefty there, a switch-hitter. In case I use a pinch hitter against Soto, I have the switch hitter in Mauricio, who's still another lefty against their righties. It's just a small adjustment.
In your mind, how important is the batting order? Fans obsess over the order regularly. Analysis shows it doesn't make a huge difference. To you, how important is getting that the way you want it?
Yeah, it's important. You have guys that want to get on base. You want to get your best hitters as many plate appearances as possible. I'm kind of old-school in that I like guys who put the ball in play with traffic. There's something to putting the ball in play with guys on. But also, guys that control the strike zone. When I'm making out a lineup, the balance of lefty/righty, that goes into the batting order.
It used to be that a leadoff hitter had to be a speed guy, the second hitter had to control the bat well. How different are the perceptions of different spots in the order than when you were playing?
Yeah, I grew up in the old school as a player, and then I grew up as a coach in the new school. I'm still at school! That's the beauty, that you're learning. There are days where, with the matchup, you like the speed at the top with Marte, a guy that puts the ball in play and can lay a bunt down. But I also like a guy that controls the strike zone and can hit for power, a guy that gets on base with what's behind him.
We're a good team because I can go in a lot of different directions.
(Top photo of Carlos Mendoza: Lucas Boland / Imagn Images)