The New York Mets are a mess.
There’s no mistaking that. But the mistake that he did make with Jorge López is that they did not provide the embattled reliever with an interpreter, according to David Samson.
López, who has since been designated for an assignment, seems to have had his words twisted after a glove-throwing-into-the-stands outburst. With English as his second language, it was unclear whether the veteran relief pitcher was saying he was the worst “teammate” or on the worst “team” in MLB.
Jorge López on the glove toss after being ejected: “I don’t regret it. I think I’ve been on the worst team in probably the whole fucking MLB.”pic.twitter.com/CtWpnLR5sL
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) May 30, 2024
Given the chance to clarify, he said “probably,” but that still doesn’t mean the Puerto Rico native understood the line of questioning.
I asked Jorge Lopez if he regretted throwing his glove into the stands. Not only did he say no, he then called the Mets “the worst team in the whole f—cking MLB.”
I later gave him a chance to clarify and he confirmed that’s what he meant.pic.twitter.com/Io2Cqh3Bdj
— Steve Gelbs (@SteveGelbs) May 30, 2024
While his comments—or lack thereof—don’t exactly reflect on the organizational process, López showed little to no remorse for throwing his glove into the stands and misleading reporters about meeting with manager Carlos Mendoza and president of baseball operations David Stearns, which he did postgame.
Lopez said that he did not meet with Mets officials when he talked to reporters after the game. But a source said he indeed did meet with both David Stearns and Carlos Mendoza. And the Mets were DFA-ing the reliever. https://t.co/XBN2auMIJV
— Joel Sherman (@Joelsherman1) May 30, 2024
It’s probably best for both sides to move on, but that didn’t stop the former Miami Marlins executive from reveling in the team’s misery.
Samson also criticized the Mets for not providing López with a translator despite the Collective Bargaining Agreement requiring it. However, according to Joel Sherman of the New York Post, three Mets media relations officials, including a translator, didn’t intervene.
“Maybe she or he was with Edwin Díaz at the time, but you cannot let López speak to the media without the translator there getting the clarification, making it clear,” he said on Thursday’s The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz. “And doing it again for clarification doesn’t count. I want it said in Spanish — his first language — because then I’d want to designate him.”
Unfortunately for López, he’s probably not one of the players on the team who can get away with discarding his glove in the stands.
“Yeah, you have to be way better,” Samson explained. “And you have to have a longer-term contract. You have to be paid way more money. You know, we let certain players get away with more based on their salary and based on their performance on the field. López (is) definitely not worth it. We’d go into meet the manager, we’d tell the manager what we were doing, we’d call the owner tell them what we’re doing, and then we’d meet the player and designate him immediately.”
[NY Post, Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz]
