New York Mets hold players meeting postgame in Pittsburgh

Last year, Francisco Lindor called a players meeting at the end of May that proved to be the catalyst for a season turnaround that brought the Mets to the brink of a World Series appearance. When asked how Saturday's meeting compared to that, Brandon Nimmo said it felt "similar."

Nimmo, who has spent all ten of his professional seasons in New York, said he did not speak in the meeting, but that "six or seven" players did, including Lindor and Pete Alonso. He called the meeting "good" and "productive," but asserted that it was a "community talk," rather than a scolding from any one player.

Lindor confirmed, stating that the meeting came together naturally.

"It just happened," he explained. "We collectively as a group, we decided to start talking to each other, and that's what good teams do. We all rely on each other, we all bounce ideas from each other."

The main takeaway, Lindor said, is that "everyone is pulling for each other, and there is a sense of urgency, and everyone loves each other."

First-year Met Juan Soto, who is having a tremendous month statistically, was also among the voices who spoke up in the meeting, urging his teammates to "keep going. Believe in it."

When asked about his role in the meeting, the seven-year Met Alonso preferred to "leave that for the boys in the room." The slugger did, however, speak about the team's struggles and the need for a meeting.

"I think it's obvious we're not playing our best baseball," Alonso said. "We're not playing to our maximum potential."

The team is struggling, and there is obvious cause for concern from this rough patch, but Lindor was clear about where his team stands and how they will approach the rest of the season.

"We are competing still," the team's unofficial captain said to the media. "We are one game, or a game-and-a-half, out of first place. This is not like a magic thing, nobody's hoping for that."

Despite the skid, New York is just one game behind the Philadelphia Phillies for first place in the NL East and sits atop the NL Wild Card race. With pitching reinforcements on the way in Sean Manaea and Kodai Senga, the team is far from out of it.

Still, a meeting among Mets players felt necessary to recenter the squad as they approach the second half of the season. For Lindor, how they'll go about their business is very simple.

"Nothing but winning. At the end of the day, it's all about winning."