PITTSBURGH
Saturday night brought an unexpected meeting for the Mets after yet another disappointing loss to the last-place team.
Following their second consecutive defeat, the players convened in the visiting clubhouse at PNC Park, hoping that open discussions might serve as the first step toward improvement.
Brandon Nimmo, who didn’t address the media afterward, was noted as one of the “six or seven” players mentioned by Francisco Lindor and Pete Alonso in their comments about the meeting.
It was reported that Juan Soto also contributed during the discussion.
“Now, it’s not just a question of ‘La, Ra,’ the season is turning around,” Lindor remarked after a 9-2 defeat against the Pirates. “We’re still in the competition. We’re just one game away from first place. We’re at the top of the wildcard standings.”
“This isn’t some kind of magic trick. It’s about dealing with adversity,” he continued. “We’ve been in this situation before, and it’s all part of the game.”
Over their last 15 games, the Mets have lost 12. They’ve succumbed to the Pirates, being outscored 18-3 in just two games.
This slump follows what appeared to be a turning point for the Mets, having won their last two games against the Braves. They seemed to regain some momentum then.
After losing their seventh consecutive game last weekend, Lindor had previously been asked if a player-only meeting was on the horizon. He commented that such discussions should happen “organically.” This led to Saturday’s gathering.
“After the game, we were all sitting here, and then this just happened,” Lindor shared. “We decided to talk as a collective group. That’s what a good team does. We depend on one another and share ideas.”
Interestingly, the Mets held a similar player-only meeting last season on May 29 and saw a turnaround that ultimately took them to Game 6 of the NLCS. They did bring in new talent around that time, including Jose Iglesias, who became somewhat of a surprise element for the team.
Nimmo described the recent meeting as more of a community forum. “I wasn’t the one pushing for changes. It was just about sharing experiences. I guess we’ll see if it has any real impact,” he said.
Soto, who has been performing well lately with a remarkable 1.214 OPS in June, encouraged his teammates to “keep believing.”
Neither Lindor nor Alonso revealed specifics about the discussions, but Alonso mentioned that multiple factors are contributing to the team’s struggles. “As a group—offensively, defensively, baserunning—we aren’t playing our best baseball,” Alonso noted. “We’re showing potential but need to do a better job of finishing.”
Lindor expressed hope that open communication would benefit everyone involved. “We’re trained to keep things bottled up,” he said. “When everyone talks about their struggles, it feels like we’re not alone in this—like we’re really a team.”
