Regardless of whether or not Jorge López disparaged the Mets on Wednesday, it didn’t matter by the end of the night. The club decided to designate the right-hander for assignment, a source told the Daily News.
López was ejected in the top of the eighth inning of the Mets’ 10-3 loss to the Los Angeles Dodgers after arguing with third base umpire Ramon DeJesus about a check swing call on Freddie Freeman. He then tossed his glove into the stands and gave an expletive-filled postgame address to the media.
However, what did matter was what he said when asked if he had talked to manager Carlos Mendoza or president of baseball operations David Stearns. He was not cut because of his actions on the field that led to his ejection, but for being untruthful in his postgame remarks.
When asked if Stearns or anyone from the team had talked to him after the incident, López quickly said no.
“I haven’t talked to him,” he said.
According to a source, Stearns and Mendoza had talked to López and informed him that his actions were unprofessional. It’s unclear when they talked to him, but the Mets did hold a team meeting following the game. Several players spoke, with Brandon Nimmo and Francisco Lindor saying most of the team said something. However, when asked if López spoke, Lindor declined to cite specific players out of respect for their privacy.
López did not apologize for his actions.
“No, I don’t regret it,” he said. “I think I’ve been looking [like] the worst teammate in the whole f—king MLB, so whatever happens, happens. Whatever they want to do. I’ll be here tomorrow if they want me, or whatever they want to do.”
As it turns out, he will not be at Citi Field on Thursday.
The right-hander was already frustrated after allowing two inherited runners to score and giving up a two-run home run to Shohei Ohtani one batter before Freeman.
With the Dodgers up 9-3, López was behind in the count 2-1 and threw a slider to Freeman, which he clearly thought was strike 2. But DeJesus said Freeman checked his swing and home plate umpire Adrian Johnson called ball 3.
At some point, DeJesus ejected López and the two began jawing on the field. Catcher Tomas Nido tried to tell the officiating crew that the pitcher had not said anything. Mendoza ran from the dugout and tried to talk to the umpires while an angry López walked toward the dugout and lobbed his glove over the netting and into the stands.
“Look, whenever you go into a stretch like this, you’re gonna see some emotions from players or from anybody in here, but what we saw today out of Lopey, that was unacceptable,” Mendoza said. “We will address that internally here.”
There is some debate about what López said about the team. A native Puerto Rican, the 31-year-old’s first language is not English. However, the team’s Spanish translator was standing by in case he needed help. It sounded as though López said the Mets were the “worst team,” in the league, and when asked to clarify if that was what he said, López said, “Probably.”
It became a messy situation.
“I don’t know, it looked embarrassing, you know, their faces,” López said. “I’m proud to be here every day. So is it the worst thing to be out? You know, I don’t care, I don’t care. It’s just a bad look.”
López said he’s frustrated “overall,” both with his pitching and with the team’s performance. He said he is not unhappy with his usage. The Mets have used him often, with his 28 appearances tied for the second-most in the league. He’s gone 1-2 with a 3.12 ERA in that span.
Last year, the Minnesota Twins placed him on the 15-day injured list for a mental health rest. It was a decision he said the team made, but he found his time away to be beneficial.
