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Mets manager Carlos Mendoza provided some updates prior to Monday’s series opener against the Braves…

On Acuña being sent down 

The Mets made a flurry of moves ahead of Monday’s contest, the most notable of which was infielder Luisangel Acuña being sent back down to Triple-A. 

Mendoza stated that decision simply came down to the youngster's playing time. 

Acuña served a significant role for this club earlier this season, but with his production dipping off and others getting healthy, he ultimately saw his time decrease significantly. 

Prior to his demotion, Acuña logged just 18 plate appearance this month. 

“He had a good April, he was getting consistent time and helped us win a lot of games,” the skipper said. “Then it was a combination of other guys producing and he became that role guy that helped us win a lot of games with his versatility, his base-running -- he was still impacting games.

“But it got to a point now where it’s getting difficult to find him playing time, and for his development and where we’re at in the regular season, what we want to see is for him to get regular at-bats and play everyday because it’s hard for us to judge him right now.”

Welcome to Queens, Mr. Lovelady 

One of the other moves made was adding Dicky Lovelady to the active roster. 

The veteran left-hander joined the club on a major league deal earlier in the day. 

Lovelady hit the open market last week after opting out of his minor league deal with the Twins, upon finding out he wasn’t going to receive an opportunity on their big-league roster. 

While he hasn’t found much success in the majors of late, he did pitch well for Minnesota’s Triple-A affiliate, posting a 2.61 ERA and 1.06 WHIP across 19 appearances. 

Mendoza says the hope is he’ll give them a much-needed boost from the left-side. 

“I’ve seen him pitch before while with Kansas City,” he said. “He's a lefty from the low-slot with the sinker, the slider, and he’s got a sweeper too. He's very tough left-on-left -- you just add another weapon out of the bullpen there so we can mix and match.”

Lovelady's held lefties to a .239 average over the course of his big-league career.

Expectations for Montas

Frankie Montas is officially set to make his Mets debut on Tuesday night. 

The veteran right-hander has been sidelined since early in spring training due to a lat injury.

Things didn't quite go well for him during his minor league rehab assignment. He allowed eight homers and pitched to a 12.05 ERA and 2.14 WHIP over six appearances between High-A and Triple-A. 

Still, Mendoza is confident that Montas can find his form and help this team. 

“He’s someone when we signed him, we thought he’s going to be a big part of this rotation,” he said. “I remember when we faced him in the Wild Card series last year, he was pretty nasty, the way the ball was coming out and the way he was using all of his pitches.

“I’ve seen him pitch for a lot of years at this level and have a lot of success. So the expectation is for him to go out there and to compete and to give us a chance to win a baseball game each and every time he takes the ball, starting tomorrow.” 

It’s been an up-and-down season for Travis Jankowski. 

The veteran is coming off back-to-back campaigns in which he played a significant role for the Rangers. 

Still, Jankowski found himself looking for a permanent home this month.  

He signed with the Cubs this offseason, but was released before the season began. He then joined the White Sox for a brief stint before being traded to the Rays, who gave him just 17 appearances before removing him from their 40-man roster. 

Jankowski elected to hit free agency again, and quickly landed with the Mets on a minor league pact.

After spending eight games down in Triple-A Syracuse, he finally received the call he's been waiting for, back up to the big-league level prior to Monday night’s series opener against the Braves.

“It’s good to be back for a second stint,” he said. “I’m getting up there as far as age so it’s just about doing anything possible to get to the big-leagues. Being with the Mets who are a contender definitely sparked my interest, they made it really hard to say no to.”

Jankowski, of course, appeared in 43 games with the club back in 2022. 

He served as the fourth outfielder but quickly became a beloved figure by Buck Showalter, his teammates, and fans with his high-energy play throughout spring training and the early part of the season. 

Now, under a new skipper, he’s expecting to take on a similar role. 

“It’s one of those things where I’ve done everything,” he said. “I’ve played every day, I’ve come off the bench, I’ve pinch hit and pinch ran, defensive replacement -- everything but pitch. And if Carlos [Mendoza] asks me to pitch I’ll go out there and eat an inning up.

“And to the fans, thanks for everything. I’m not sure why you guys love me but I’ll take it, hopefully I can keep up the support.”

It sounds like the Mets could have Mark Vientos back in the lineup at some point this week.

According to manager Carlos Mendoza, Vientos will play two more rehab games with Triple-A Syracuse over the next couple of days, and if all goes to plan, the Mets will have a decision to make with the slugging infielder as early as Thursday.

“He’s going to play nine innings at third base (Tuesday) in Syracuse, and then they’ve got a day game the following day (Wednesday). Most likely, he’ll DH and then we’ll see where we are,” Mendoza said on Monday ahead of the series opener against the Braves at Citi Field. “But he’s feeling better, it’s just more like getting the volume up now.”

Vientos, who was placed on the IL on June 3 with a right hamstring strain, has played in four rehab games with Syracuse, going 2-for-17 at the plate with a double and three RBI.

Prior to suffering his injury, Vientos was slashing .230/.298/.380 with six home runs and 21 RBI in 53 games for the Mets.

If and when Vientos is activated on Thursday, the most likely corresponding move is Ronny Mauricio being optioned back to Triple-A ball.

Mauricio, who was tearing the cover off the ball with Syracuse prior to getting called up, has struggled to hit major league pitching, slashing .180/.241/.320 with two home runs, three RBI, and 18 strikeouts in 15 games.

On Sunday, the Mets sent catcher Francisco Alvarez to Triple-A to give him more playing time, and then did the same with Luisangel Acuña on Monday.

The Mets shared an encouraging update on Kodai Senga's hamstring injury prior to Sunday's series finale with the Phillies, and the star right-hander validated those feelings of optimism less than 24 hours later with his own progress report.

Before their home series opener with the Braves, the Mets' starter told reporters that his strained right hamstring is feeling "great," and that he would be throwing off the mound on Monday with "decent intensity" if cleared by the training staff.

Senga also said he believes a rehab assignment is "on the horizon."

"Daily conversations are very important," Senga said, via a translator. "I know everybody wants to know, 'Hey, when are you going to get off the mound, when are you going to throw a bullpen, when are you going to throw in a game?' That's kind of in the future. I want to take it day by day. Maybe some days I can push it a little bit further, while some days I need to take a step back and take it easy. Those are the conversations I'm having every day."

Senga, who landed on the 15-day injured list with a low-grade hamstring strain on June 13, wasn't instructed to completely shut down from throwing. Mets manager Carlos Mendoza said as much just over a week ago, and this past weekend, he said Senga was keeping his arm fresh by playing catch.

It's still unclear when Senga will return to the mound in uniform -- the Mets initially projected to re-evaluate him in two weeks -- but it's possible his recovery timetable is ahead of schedule.

"The good thing is, he kept throwing, even right after the injury," Mendoza said Monday. "The fact he's already getting on the mound and letting the ball go with some intensity, that's a really good sign. We'll see what the next step will be. But not even two weeks, and he's already getting on the mound and playing catch with intensity. That's good."

Senga has produced a stellar 2025 campaign thus far. In 13 starts, he owns a pristine 1.47 ERA -- the league's best mark for pitchers with 70-plus innings logged -- and has struck out 70 batters while holding opposing hitters to a .195 average.

Kodai Senga says he feels "great" and that he's recovering really well from his injury

He hopes to throw off a mound soon if he is cleared by trainers pic.twitter.com/9F9G84Eqoy

— SNY (@SNYtv) June 23, 2025

The 2025 NHL Draft is coming up in just a few days and the New York Rangers still have a significant decision to make regarding their 12th overall pick. 

As part of the J.T. Miller trade with the Vancouver Canucks, the Rangers either have to give up their first-round pick this year or in 2026. 

Speculation has been rising on what route Rangers president and general manager Chris Drury may take. 

One idea that hasn’t been discussed much, but is very well a possibility is the Rangers keeping their first-round pick and using it to move up in the draft. 

“I wonder if the Rangers try to move up,” Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman said. “That’s another one I’m kind of wondering there.”

There are rumors floating around that a couple of teams could be willing to move down and there could be a lot of action in terms of trades before and during the draft.

“I really think this one (draft) has a chance to be crazy,” Friedman said. “I think there are some teams that could really set tones… There are some teams here that could really set the draft on its ears.”

It’s unclear if the Rangers are leaning toward keeping their first-round selection or giving it away. 

If they decide to keep it, they'll have the option to either sit at their current selection and pick the best prospect on the board, trade the pick to move up in the draft, or for an already established player to help give the roster a boost. 

Flyers Trade For Trevor Zegras, Taking A Rangers Target Off Of The MarketTrevor Zegras has been traded from the Anaheim Ducks to the Philadelphia Flyers for Ryan Poehling, the 2025 45th overall pick, and a 2026 fourth-round pick. 

On the other side of things, if Drury gives it up and keeps the team’s 2026 first-round pick, the Rangers will have a security blanket if their season goes off the rails and they regress or if the Blueshirts are in playoff contention, he can use that pick at the trade deadline to acquire a win-now player. 

It’s a dilemma with pros and cons on both sides, so Drury has a very difficult yet crucial choice to make that could impact the franchise in a major way.