For the first time in more than a decade, Carlos Mendoza and José Quintana are on the same team again.
The new Mets manager and returning starting pitcher caught up Wednesday — Mendoza with a festive Santa hat and Quintana wearing the full Santa suit — as Mets cohorts after coming up together through the Yankees’ system.
Quintana originally had signed out of Colombia with the Mets and began his professional career in 2006, but he was suspended for violating the terms of baseball’s drug policy and released.
He then signed with the Yankees in 2008 and joined a system that included Mendoza, then an upper-level infielder.
Mendoza retired in 2009 and jumped into coaching, including serving as an assistant coach on the 2010, Class-A Charleston team for which Quintana pitched five games.
“Every year [in those days] I would see him around the complex, and he was a great mentor to all the Latin guys at that time,” Quintana said at the Mets’ annual Kids Holiday Party at Citi Field.
Quintana made it to High-A Tampa with the Yankees in 2011 before leaving as a minor league free agent.
He broke through with the White Sox the following season and has emerged as one of the most consistent starters in baseball through 12 major league seasons.
When the Yankees promoted Mendoza to the big-league staff after the 2017 season, the two would run into each other on the field again.
“This was probably the first time I had an opportunity to talk to him since 2011, other than just competing against him on the big-league level,” said Mendoza, whom the Mets hired last month.
Quintana, who said he is feeling healthy after requiring rib surgery last spring that kept him sidelined until July, is a fan.
“Really smart, really good communication with all players,” Quintana said about Mendoza. “He knows about baseball, he knows how the game’s done.”