The Marlins raised some eyebrows around the league last September when they experimented with calling pitches from the dugout for the final nine games of the season -- something they’re planning to continue as an organizational directive in 2026.
The NL East-rival Mets are now following in their footsteps, at least a little bit, in 2026 Spring Training.
According to ESPN, the Mets experimented with having catching coach J.P. Arencibia call pitches in Thursday’s 6-2 Grapefruit League win over the Astros. Catcher Francisco Alvarez would look toward the dugout to receive the sign before communicating with his pitcher via PitchCom.
If Thursday was any indication, this system has potential. Starter Kodai Senga threw four scoreless innings against many of Houston’s regular hitters.
"We're working through it," Mets manager Carlos Mendoza told ESPN. "There's a lot. It's new. It's new for a lot of people here. We've done it with [Minor League pitchers]. They need to be working on pitches. And the feedback, the buy-in has been really good. So I don't think we're going to call every pitch, but we're kind of working through some scenarios where if they need help, we'll be ready."
However, Mendoza said his club is not doing things exactly the same as the Marlins.
At the end of last season, Marlins assistant pitching coach Alon Leichman would deliver a sign to the team’s catcher, who would then check the call on a wristband and relay the choice to the pitcher. Leichman is now with the Rockies, but Miami is using the same system with Rob Marcello in the same role, and it has permeated through every level of the organization.
Mets catchers will have the option to decide on a different pitch than the one the dugout signaled. Similar to the Marlins’ strategy, the pitcher still has the choice to shake the pitch off.
The Rockies (under Leichman) and the Giants are among other clubs who have discussed exploring pitch calling from the dugout this spring.
“I believe that this, over time, is going to help us as a group prevent [more] runs,” Marlins manager Clayton McCullough said. “It's going to help individuals perform better. And knowing that, during the season, we're going to give up 10 runs in a game, and guys are going to give up home runs, and that's part of it. Blips of difficult stretches aren't going to deter us from something that we believe, long term, is going to pay real dividends.”