Another Senga start? Martinez or Winker? Q's linger for Mets in NLCS

NEW YORK -- Even as the Mets continue to overcome every challenge tossed across their path, new questions seem to arise on a daily basis. Here are three of the most pressing, as the National League Championship Series shifts to Queens for Game 3 on Wednesday.

Will Kodai Senga start another game?

It would be difficult, coming off Senga’s NLCS Game 1 implosion, for the Mets to place much faith in him starting Game 5 -- a crucial swing game in any best-of-seven series. But their other options are not ideal. David Peterson could theoretically do it, yet every time manager Carlos Mendoza has been asked about the left-hander, he’s harped upon the value of having Peterson in the bullpen. To that end, Peterson should be available if needed in Games 3 or 4.

But what if the Mets manage to save him? Could they start Peterson over Senga in Game 5?

“We’ll see how the game goes [Wednesday], if Peterson is available for [Wednesday] or the next day, but we’ve just got to get there first,” Mendoza said. “But he brings a lot out of the bullpen.”

Asked multiple times as well about Senga’s health, Mendoza has insisted nothing is amiss. Senga, meanwhile, said after his Game 1 start that he’s “100 percent” healthy. That doesn’t mean he’ll be able to fix his mechanics in the span of five days, after throwing 20 of his 30 pitches in Game 1 out of the strike zone. But if the Mets are committed to using Peterson in relief, then the only alternative is Tylor Megill, who hasn’t pitched a full start since Sept. 30 (and who was shaky in his only relief appearance this month).

Perhaps there’s a world in which the Mets don’t need Peterson in Games 3 and 4 and can start him in Game 5. Right now, it seems more likely Senga will get the ball again, for better or for worse.

Does J.D. Martinez still have a job at DH?

Asked about his role after going unused for a second consecutive game in NLCS Game 2, Martinez replied: “That’s a question for Carlos. I don’t have much of a say. I’m kind of just waiting my turn. He doesn’t obviously have confidence in me. He’s got confidence in other people. So it’s just one of those things.”

Considering Jesse Winker has reached base safely in seven of his past 14 plate appearances, Mendoza’s strategy at the position makes sense. Yet Mendoza made it clear earlier this month that he doesn’t consider DH a straight platoon. To that end, he said there’s “a good chance” Martinez is in the Mets’ Game 3 lineup against right-hander Walker Buehler.

“He’s a professional hitter, and he means a lot to this team and to that lineup,” Mendoza said. “Whenever he’s in there, he makes us a better team as well. So yeah, he’s going to continue to be a big part of the team moving forward.”

Over the first two rounds of the playoffs, it was easy for Mendoza to alternate between Martinez and Winker, given the string of left-handed starters the Brewers and Phillies sent to the mound. It’s been a lot more difficult lately, considering the Dodgers don’t have any lefty starters on their active roster and just one in their bullpen.

Is it time for Jeff McNeil to play?

The short answer is: Probably not for Game 3. Asked specifically about that possibility on Tuesday, Mendoza didn’t commit to McNeil the way he did Martinez.

Going forward, the situation is more nuanced. There is of course no player who better embodies the spirit of the 2024 Mets than Jose Iglesias, a veteran infielder whose story by now has become well known. Iglesias didn’t appear in the Majors last year, but made it back as a callup of the Mets in late May and spent the rest of the season hitting well over .300 -- and, for good measure, inspiring the Mets with his side hustle: a music career that included the release of his hit single, “OMG,” in June. (The remix, featuring Pitbull, dropped late last week.)

But Iglesias may be showing signs of mortality. He doesn’t have an extra-base hit all postseason, and his uncharacteristic fielding error in NLCS Game 2 directly led to a two-run Dodgers rally.

If Iglesias is indeed fading a bit in the season’s seventh month, it would be understandable. He hasn’t missed a game since August. Counting the postseason, Iglesias has played in 108 more contests than he did last season, when his brief stint as a Minor League player ended in June. That’s a lot of mileage on a 34-year-old body.

Enter McNeil, who joined the Mets’ active roster in advance of the NLCS but has received just one pinch-hit plate appearance in two games. Upon activating McNeil, Mendoza made it clear Iglesias would continue to play, but he also left open the door for McNeil to draw a start or two. Moreover, Mendoza said he considered McNeil uniquely qualified to hit big league pitching despite not having many recent live reps, because of his elite bat-to-ball skills.

If Iglesias descends into a deeper slump in the coming days, it could become time to give McNeil a try.

“A lot can happen, especially during a seven-game series,” Mendoza said of McNeil last week. “Who knows. … He might be getting the biggest at-bat of the series at some point.”