Mets using rare rest to make all-important NLCS decision

After weeks of scrambling, the Mets were in the unfamiliar position Friday of taking it relatively easy while their next-round postseason opponent faced the stress. The Mets held an afternoon team workout at Citi Field, ahead of the Padres and Dodgers playing Game 5 of the NLDS in Los Angeles.The winner of that game would host the Mets in Game 1 of the NLCS on Sunday. “It’s nice to be able to have these off days and you can reset [the pitching] and just kind of map it out as much as you want,” manager Carlos Mendoza said on a Zoom call with reporters.

“But I think it’s more the rest for our guys, the position player group and just the whole team in general.With all the back and forth and the traveling and all the intense games that we’ve been playing, so to be able to have these couple of days to reset and get guys treatment and things like that is huge.” As for the pitching, Mendoza wasn’t prepared to announce a rotation for the NLCS.

That, he said, was more a function of trying to gauge where his pitchers are between starts than the uncertainty of which team the Mets would be facing. Kodai Senga, Luis Severino and Sean Manaea are all Game 1 options.Manaea, who pitched Tuesday, is the least rested from that crew, but would still be on his normal fifth day.

Senga, who pitched two innings in his return from the injured list last Saturday, would still be limited, requiring a piggyback most likely from David Peterson, but Tylor Megill is another possibility. Follow The Post’s coverage of the Mets in the postseason:Peterson has become the Mets’ secret weapon in October and his availability, whether it be for multiple innings or just one factors into team brass’ decisions. “It’s amazing because [Peterson] is a guy we saw all season starting games and he’s been able to come from the bullpen in close games and throw multiple innings like he did last game,” Edwin Diaz said.“He’s doing great.

I’m really happy to have him in the b...