Jorge Lopez, officially designated for assignment by the Mets on Thursday, insisted he did not say the Mets were the “worst team probably in the whole f–king MLB” and instead had called himself the “worst teammate in the entire league.”
That didn’t stop the team from cutting him loose — as the Mets now have seven days to trade or release the right-hander — as the organization was angered not just by his postgame comments, but also by Lopez throwing his glove into the stands as he walked off the field following his ejection in the eighth inning of Wednesday’s loss to the Dodgers.
Carlos Mendoza said he “wasn’t happy” about Lopez’s interview, but declined to get into the specifics of the timing of the Lopez move.
A source said a combination of factors led to the DFA decision, including the comments, the glove-toss, Lopez’s refusal to show any regret for the glove-toss and Lopez telling reporters he had not yet met with Mets officials.
Mendoza confirmed that he and president of baseball operations David Stearns talked with Lopez before the interview.
“We made a decision,’’ Mendoza said before the Mets opened a series against the Diamondbacks at Citi Field. “The timing, I’m not getting into the details on that. We have standards here and we’re not gonna tolerate that.”
Among the players, there was mostly sympathy for Lopez, who spent time on the IL last year with the Twins to address mental health issues.
“I feel bad for him,” said Francisco Lindor, who called a players-only meeting following Wednesday’s loss. “I love him. He’s a great person. It’s a decision the front office made and he has to live with it.”
There was also belief, to Lopez’s point, that there was a misunderstanding in what he actually said.
Lopez, who is from Puerto Rico, speaks English as a second language, but typically he did his interviews without the help of the team’s interpreter.
“I had no intention of disparaging the New York Mets organization,” Lopez, who also apologized to his “teammates, coaches, fans, and front office,” said in a statement. “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.”
Toward the end of Wednesday’s postgame interview, Lopez was asked to clarify if he meant to say the Mets were “the worst team.” Lopez said, “Yeah, probably. It looked like it.”
Earlier Thursday, Lopez blamed the media on Instagram, writing: “Thanks media for [making] it worse.”
J.D. Martinez agreed and blasted the media for its role in the incident.
“I think the media took advantage of it, personally,” said Martinez, who, like Lopez, is bilingual.
“I think that me understanding ‘Spanglish …’ I’ve been around these guys for so long, I feel like you can clearly see he was trying to say himself, ‘teammate.’ That’s how I took it right away. And I just think [the media] kind of used it to get their clickbaits and get publicity out there that they want to get.”
Martinez added that he has been among the veteran Spanish-speaking players who has encouraged others to speak English during interviews.
“And then you have a situation like that, and the guy got DFA’d for it,’’ Martinez said. “I’m his teammate. I should be furious about it. And I feel sorry for him because I know what he meant to say.”
But Luis Severino said that shouldn’t have been an excuse for Lopez.
“I didn’t think he was trying to say that this was the worst team,’’ Severino said. “I thought it was a little miscommunication, a language barrier. But he was asked again and he agreed. I know [Lopez] has been doing interviews in English his whole career. He’s a grown man.”
Losing Lopez also cost the Mets one of the few serviceable arms in the Mets’ battered bullpen.
The Mets recalled Danny Young to take his spot in the pen.
Mendoza said Lopez was “respectful” when informed of the decision to designate him.
“He’s human,’’ Mendoza said. “He made a mistake.”
