Inside The Mets

Carlos Mendoza reveals origin of Johan Santana's Mets reunion

New York Mets manager Carlos Mendoza explained how Johan Santana being with the team on Saturday came together.
Grant Young|
July 24, 2012; New York, NY, USA; New York Mets injured starting pitcher Johan Santana warms up with his team before a game against the Washington Nationals at Citi Field. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-Imagn Images
July 24, 2012; New York, NY, USA; New York Mets injured starting pitcher Johan Santana warms up with his team before a game against the Washington Nationals at Citi Field. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-Imagn Images | Brad Penner-Imagn Images

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New York Mets

The New York Mets play their first spring training game of 2025 on February 22, when they take on the Houston Astros in Florida.

The vibes seem to be extremely high among the Mets' organization right now. While this is owed to their successful 2024 season plus a massive offseason where they acquired Juan Soto among other notable names, it's also because some other familiar faces have shown up.

One example of this is Johan Santana, who is present at the Mets' camp on Saturday.

Santana is a two-time Cy Young Award winner, four-time MLB All-Star, and three-time MLB ERA leader who finished his career in 2012 with a 139-78 record, 3.20 ERA, and 1,988 strikeouts.

Santana spent four seasons with the Mets (2008-2010 and 2012). Over that time, he amassed a 46-34 record with a 3.18 ERA and 607 strikeouts. He also threw the first no-hitter in Mets franchise history in 2012.

Read more: NL team deemed 'good fit' for 2 ex-Mets, per insider

Santana's focus is with the Mets pitching staff on Saturday, as he was seen working with Sean Manaea (who says Santana was his favorite player growing up) on pitch grips during a bullpen session.

When speaking with the media on February 22, New York manager Carlos Mendoza spoke about how Santana ultimately made his way to the Mets' camp.

"Yeah. I think he was involved with the Twins, as well," Mendoza said when asked whether he was the one who brought Santana to his team's spring training, per SNY. "But I saw him last year when we were playing the Marlins in Miami, he stopped by to say hi. Came by the office.

"So we started the conversation back then, and when I reached out to him in the offseason, he's got a lot with his family, his kids, he's a dad too, right? But when he gave us the okay, I was pretty excited about that," he added.

The Mets pitching staff will surely be eager to glean any wisdom from Santana.

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Grant Young
GRANT YOUNG

Grant Young covers the New York Mets and Women’s Basketball for Sports Illustrated’s ‘On SI’ sites. He holds an MFA degree in creative writing from the University of San Francisco, where he also played Division 1 baseball for five years. He believes Mark Teixeira should have been a first ballot MLB Hall of Fame inductee.

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