For the first time since last season, Brandon Nimmo will be the Mets' starting center fielder on Tuesday night when they begin a three-game series with the Chicago Cubs.

Starling Marte will be in left field and Juan Soto remains in right field.

With the final week of the regular season underway and New York fighting for a playoff spot, Mendoza is shaking things up and leaving no stone unturned.

"Combination of a lot of different things," the skipper said. "… I wanted to get some righties in there knowing that they have a lot of left-handed pitching out of the bullpen.

"Kind of like a small outfield, if you want to call it (that), and you just never know how the wind’s blowing, but I thought that Marte is feeling almost 100 percent with the knee. That’s a big factor, we’ve been monitoring and kind of protecting him for a long time and we got to a point where he understands where we’re at."

The decision comes as the Mets' other options in center field -- Cedric Mullins and Jose Siri -- have failed to generate enough offense and also struggled defensively.

In fact, one of them could be on the chopping block when Tyrone Taylor is activated from the IL as early as Wednesday, Mendoza noted.

"Obviously we gotta make a decision, but we gotta get through today, gotta make sure that TT's ready to go and then we’re gonna have to make some decisions," Mendoza said.

Meanwhile, Nimmo has played 144 games in left field this season and just four games in center field, although he hasn't started a game there since 2024, when he made 22 starts in center.

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