Mets’ Mendoza says DFA’d López went ‘over line’
NEW YORK — Jorge Lopez was designated for assignment by the struggling New York Mets one day after the reliever threw his glove into the stands following his ejection, a move made to send a message to the rest of the team that petulant behavior will not be tolerated.
“We have standards here,” Mets manager Carlos Mendoza said before Thursday’s series opener against Arizona. “When you’re not playing well, guys will show emotions. There’s frustrations, but there’s a fine line and yesterday went over that line.”
Mendoza would not specify whether the decision was made over López’s behavior or the behavior coupled with the pitcher’s postgame interview.
“I don’t regret it,” López said when asked about throwing his glove over the netting into the crowd as he walked off the field. “I think I’ve been looking [like] the worst teammate probably in the whole f—ing MLB.”
It was a comment he addressed further the next day, posting on his Instagram story that he indeed called himself the “worst teammate” and saying earlier stories from some outlets that initially misquoted him as saying he was on the “worst team” made the situation “worse.”
López later expounded on those comments in a full statement on his Instagram account in which he apologized to his “teammates, coaches, fans and front office.”
“I feel that I let them down yesterday, both on and off the field,” López said. “I also want to clarify my post-game remarks, because I had no intention of disparaging the New York Mets organization. During that interview, I spoke candidly about my frustrations with my personal performance and how I felt it made me ‘the worst teammate in the entire league.’
“Unfortunately, my efforts to address the media in English created some confusion and generated headlines that do not reflect what I was trying to express. I wish the team the best and hope that God continues to give me strength and guidance in my personal and professional life.”
Mets first baseman Pete Alonso said López’s postgame remark “got misconstrued.”
“I feel for him and I hope he’s doing OK mentally because I know he’s gotten a lot of scrutiny for what people thought he said,” Alonso explained.
Mendoza said the team’s decision was not made because of on-field performance. The 31-year-old López was 1-2 with a 3.76 ERA and two saves in 28 appearances — among the most in the major leagues.
“He was always available,” the manager said. “This was more like we have standards here and yesterday was one of those where we felt like we needed to do something.”
New York began Thursday 22-33 despite baseball’s highest payroll, and Mendoza said the decision was made to send a message to players.
“I’m talking about standards, right,” he said. “There’s going to be times where you’re going to see frustration for players, but there’s a fine line and … behaviors like that we’re not going tolerate.”
New York has seven days to trade or release López, or to assign him outright to the minors if he goes unclaimed. He signed a $2 million, one-year contract with New York in December.
His roster spot was filled by left-hander Danny Young, who was recalled from Triple-A Syracuse. Mendoza said when informed of the decision, López “was respectful, but he didn’t say much.”
An All-Star in 2022, López spent time on the 15-day injured list with Minnesota last summer to address mental health after acting out frustration during mound struggles.
“I’m not going to get into his personal life, his personal situation,” Mendoza said.
López gave up a two-run homer to Shohei Ohtani late in a 10-3 loss to the Los Angeles Dodgers on Wednesday. Moments later, the right-hander was ejected for shouting at third base umpire Ramon De Jesus over an appeal ruling on Freddie Freeman’s checked swing.
“It’s just emotions. The game, it just takes you there,” López said.
López pointed at De Jesus and yelled some more, then dropped the ball and walked off the mound with his jersey untucked. As he approached the Mets’ dugout, he tossed his glove high over the protective netting and it landed a couple of rows deep in the stands, where it was snagged by a fan.
“I didn’t think that I would ever see that in a baseball game,” Alonso said. “It’s unfortunate what happened.”
After López’s cap fell off his head as well, López left it laying in the dirt in front of the dugout and headed for the bench.
“I’m the way I am,” he said. “I’m not afraid to be me.”
Mets players held a team meeting after Wednesday’s defeat, their 15th in 19 games.
“I like it because it’s important for them to let it all out. And yesterday thought with them calling that meeting, it was needed for all of us,” Mendoza said.
New York entered with 19 wins in its last 23 games against the Diamondbacks. Arizona manager Torey Lovullo thought back to May 7, 2021, when Mets shortstop Francisco Lindor and second baseman Jeff McNeil appeared to scrap in a dugout tunnel after combining to misplay a grounder. One claimed the disagreement stemmed from seeing a rat, the other a racoon. The Mets rallied for a 5-4 win.
“This team is dangerous and they’re full of talent and experience,” Lovullo said. “We’re not going to take anything for granted. I remember being on this field, and I thought I saw the shortstop and the second baseman basically getting into a fight in the dugout, and they ended up beating us pretty bad that day.”
Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.
The Carolina Hurricanes have reached a three-year, $9.5 million extension with forward Taylor Hall through the 2027-28 season.
The team announced the signing Wednesday, a day after the Hurricanes closed out the New Jersey Devils in their first-round playoff series. It marked the seventh straight year that Carolina has won at least one postseason series.
Hall, 33, acquired in a blockbuster January deal that included Mikko Rantanen‘s arrival, scored the first of Carolina’s four second-period goals that helped it erase a 3-0 deficit before winning in double overtime. He’s a 15-year veteran who won the Hart Trophy as the NHL’s MVP in the 2017-18 season.
“Taylor has proven to be an outstanding fit for our team, and we are thrilled that he is excited to make Raleigh his home for another three seasons,” general manager Eric Tulsky said in a statement. “He’s been a solid veteran presence in the locker room and a difference maker on the ice.”
Hall had 18 goals and 24 assists in 77 regular-season games between Chicago and Carolina, and also had two assists in the five-game series win against New Jersey. He had missed most of the previous season due to knee surgery and was making $6 million this year with free agency looming, then led Carolina skaters with four power-play goals in the regular season after his arrival.
The Hurricanes acquired the 2010 No. 1 overall draft pick on Jan. 24 in the three-team deal that snagged Rantanen from Colorado, though they later sent Rantanen to Dallas with forward Logan Stankoven as the primary trade-deadline return when it became clear Rantanen was unlikely to sign long-term to stay with Carolina.
Hall and Tulsky are scheduled to address reporters by Zoom later Wednesday.
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Greg Wyshynski
Utah Hockey Club officials wouldn’t confirm whether “Mammoth” was their new name after it allegedly leaked on the team’s official YouTube channel Tuesday night.
Fans and media noticed that the channel’s handle was changed from “@UtahHockeyClub” to “@UtahMammoth,” on both its landing page and URL. The channel was soon deactivated and remained so on Wednesday morning, but not before screenshots of the name change went viral.
Utah Mammoth was one of three finalists featured in a fan vote at Delta Center to help determine the permanent name of the team, which played its inaugural season in 2024-25 after SEG purchased and relocated the former Arizona Coyotes franchise. Fans voted with iPads located at stations around the arena that featured the names, logos and potential branding for each option.
Originally, the three names voted on were Utah Mammoth, Utah Hockey Club and Utah Wasatch, which was quickly swapped out for Utah Outlaws after the team saw early vote returns.
Mammoth made the final four in the initial fan vote last year.
Utah HC executives wouldn’t confirm or deny that Mammoth will be the team’s new nickname.
Mike Maughan, an executive with Utah HC owner Smith Entertainment Group, said on Wednesday that “progress continues on exploring all three of the name options that were chosen as finalists by our fans. We’re fully on track to announce a permanent name and identity ahead of the 25-26 NHL season and look forward to sharing that with our fans when we do.”
When pressed for an explanation on the alleged YouTube leak, Maughan would only say, “We’re fully on track to announce a permanent name and identity ahead of the 25-26 NHL season.”
One NHL source told ESPN that the revelation for the team’s new name and logo could come before the NHL draft in late June. This year’s draft is a “decentralized” event, meaning that teams will be making selections from their own sites rather than in one central location. That opens the door for Utah to have an event in Salt Lake City with team officials around the draft.
In other Utah HC news, the team announced Wednesday that Delta Center, home to Utah HC and the Utah Jazz, will be undergoing a renovation to optimize hockey sightlines while maintaining the proximity of basketball fans to the court using a state-of-the-art retractable seating system. It’s a multiyear project that will also create a new main entrance and outdoor plaza.
The first-of-its-kind seating system accommodates a nearly 12-foot variance in elevation between rink and court endlines to offer optimal sightlines for both the NBA and NHL. Every seat in the lower bowl will have a complete view of the ice at the start of next season — the team estimates that 400 seats currently can only see one goal net during games.
The new hockey configuration adds capacity behind the goals and above and around the event tunnels on the north and south side of the lower bowl and improves access to seating behind the boards.
When all renovations are complete, seating capacity for hockey will increase from 11,131 to approximately 17,000 — with every seat in the upper and lower bowls having full views of both goals — and capacity for basketball will increase from 18,206 to nearly 19,000 seats.
“Delta Center was built for basketball. When you come and put the size of an ice sheet in that venue with those sight lines, the geometry just doesn’t work. So that’s where you come up with the riser system configuration. You come up with raising the floor 2 feet,” said Jim Olson, president of the Jazz and executive representing SEG on all facilities projects.
“We are absolutely protecting the basketball experience, but then also creating a great hockey experience where all the seats can see all the ice,” he said.
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