Brodie Van Wagenen and Mickey Callaway spoke earlier today and gave us a lot of information to digest in a short amount of time. Here are some of the important comments and concerns they addressed in their press conferences:

Who Was Chosen For The Spot Start Monday And Why?

Mickey Callaway was choosing between either RHP Wilmer Font or RHP Drew Gagnon. Font has now started two games in his brief Mets career. In his first start, he threw well but lasted just four innings and gave up two earned runs. The second on the other hand, was less than serviceable, as he gave up five earned runs in 2.1 innings pitched. For 2019, Font has a 7.08 ERA so far between his time with the Ray and the Mets.

As Anthony Dicomo of MLB.com pointed out earlier, Drew Gagnon has not thrown over 26 pitches in an outing in over a month. While it was originally believed this was the reason he didn’t get the start, that is not actually the case. Mickey spoke about his decision to start Font and mentioned that because of Lugo going to the injured list that really “made the decision easier to lean toward Font.”

He added, “Lugo having to go to the IL just made the decision for us.” Mickey included that he has a lot of trust in Drew that the can go into games that we are ahead and hold the opposition off from scoring.

Was Anthony Kay Considered?

A reporter asked Mickey  if the team considered calling up left-handed pitching prospect Anthony Kay. Mickey said that he wouldn’t be called up at this time but he is “on the radar” and that they feel he still needs “further development.” Mickey and the other coaches are impressed by his talent and like where he is headed however he went on to mention, “there is a couple things we would like to see him accomplish before we give him a chance.”

Cano Is Out Of The Lineup 

Mickey told Cano on Sunday that he would not be getting the start for Monday night’s game agains the Nationals. His reasoning was presented in a list of factors leading to his decision, “One, he has been struggling against lefties. That’s just how it is. We are facing a very good lefty today.

Two, he understands that it’s acceptable to run balls out and he understands that he needs to do that at all times….Three, I feel at this point he needs a day off”. According to Mike Puma of the NY Post, Cano had never been told his day off was for failing to run. “Cano was under the impression this was a prearranged day off”.

Callaway Is Brodie’s Manger and He Still Has Confidence In His Team

The beginning of Brodie Van Wagenen’s press conference was delayed because the front office, the entire coaching staff, and the players were in a meeting. This was brought up by Brodie early into this press conference and he addressed what they discussed in the meeting.

“First and foremost it was to make clear to the coaches, make clear to Mickey and make sure the players understood that I, the front office, and the entire ownership group have support of Mickey Callaway as our manager…He is our manager…”.

Included in this press conference he addressed the concern that the fans had that the team wasn’t doing well and he mentioned, “We believe this team has the ability to contend, the same way we said that in the offseason loudly and proudly…the accountability that will ultimately fall on this team I want to place on my shoulders… I will be the one, along with the rest of the front office team, that will continue to make improvements to this roster as we go forward like we have today with the purchase of Hector Santiago‘s contract.”

Brodie has confidence in his team and they have confidence amongst themselves, “We know that we can play better…This is our team we are proud of it, we believe in it and we are going to make every effort in our control to improve upon it.”

To Sum It Up…

Overall it seems that Callaway was never concerned about his job security, and having had multiple conversations with the front office recently, he knew they had confidence in him that he will be the manager “for the foreseeable future” as per Brodie Van Wagenen. The decision to start Font was up in the air for the last two days trying to figure out the extend of Lugo’s injury which was the turning point of their decision.

The team does like the potential that Anthony Kay has but does not want to rush his preparation and development. Cano will take the day off for his recent base-running blunders and for his lack of success against left handed pitching. Furthermore, even after the brutal weekend the Mets just had, Brodie and the front office still have confidence in their team and feel that all blame should be directed toward them as they did create this team and stick by the decisions they made in the offseason.