Congrats, you just got fired by the worst team in baseball

Some quick thoughts on Jorge López's ejection, postgame comments, and pending release rom the Mets.

Other than major breaking news — typically transactions or injuries — we don’t usually do a ton of instant reactions or postgame articles here on Just Mets. But tonight felt like an exception.

After today’s embarrassing loss to the Dodgers (what else is new?), Mets relief pitcher Jorge López put on a master class on how to get yourself designated for assignment, and I just felt compelled to throw together a few quick thoughts on the matter.

For those who missed it, here’s the quick recap: López, after allowing two runs in a third of an inning, was ejected by the third base umpire and subsequently threw his glove into the stands in anger. Following the game, manager Carlos Mendoza and other teammates spoke against the right-hander’s actions calling them “unacceptable,” and the team had a closed-door meeting led by Francisco Lindor. When López spoke to reporters after all this, he told them he regretted nothing, said he was the worst teammate in baseball and confirmed to reporters that the Mets were the worst team in baseball.

In less than an hour, it was reported by many that López had been designated for assignment.

Slow clap. That, my friends, is a hell of a way to get yourself outta town, which seems to be exactly what López may have wanted.

“I don’t regret it,” López said after the game. “Whatever happens, happens. Whatever they wanna do … I’m ready to come back tomorrow if they want me to be here.”

I have to say, in all of my years watching and writing about Mets baseball I’ve seen a lot, but I’m not sure I’ve ever seen a sequence of events quite like that. I can fully appreciate a player for telling it like it is, being honest and taking accountability, but that isn’t really what happened here.

Despite his manager and teammates expressing that his actions were not okay, López doubled and tripled down on them by saying he regretted nothing. And just because his comments about the team being among the worst in baseball weren’t untrue– a quote that has been debated online but that reporters asked López a second time in order to confirm that’s what he meant – consider the source and delivery method here.

It was not as if López was saying this as a reality check or in a moment of being accountable for his and the team’s collective play, but more so came off as criticizing the rest of the team while keeping himself out of it. Perhaps that’s just how it came off in the heat of the moment, but considering the club’s quick actions to move on from López, it’s safe to say that the team felt that way, too.

This isn’t to say players shouldn’t be honest when their team is down, either. We’ve criticized Mets teams in the past for refusing to speak to the reality of their situations, but it’s all about the way it’s delivered and, honestly, who it comes from.

“Individually and as a group, we’re just not getting it done,” Adam Ottavino said after the game. “It’s really all over the board. We stink right now. It doesn’t mean we’re gonna stink moving forward, but that’s just the reality of the situation.”

That, to me, is a perfect example of a player holding themselves and their teammates accountable and being real with the fans while still not crossing the line or throwing anyone under the bus. Perhaps that’s something that López could learn from in his next job.

In the meantime, I suppose congratulations are in order if this is, indeed, what López really wanted. So congrats, Jorge: You just got fired by the “worst fucking team” in baseball.