Danny Mendick is back in a somewhat familiar place.

“Not often have I played in, you know, upstate New York for a full season," Mendick said. "Normally, it was in Charlotte or, you know, in Chicago. So I was a little further away. But having the ability for it to just be a drive, not worrying about the flying and stuff like that, it's been great. I get to see family that I don't normally get to see at this time of year, so it's been a blessing.”

The Rochester native is back in upstate New York but with a new organization, the New York Mets.

“Everyone grinds, you know? You try to go out there and give everything you got, one through nine, and then see what happens," Mendick said. "Sometimes, the results haven't been on our side.”

The Syracuse Mets have had plenty of bumps in the road in their season. But that doesn’t deter Mendick from trying to get better every day.

“You always hold yourself to a higher standard, so whatever the stats say they are, you're not necessarily always happy with, right? Because you feel like you can do better," Mendick said. "But I know how long a baseball season is. I know, you know, the ups and the downs of it and stuff like that. So staying patient, staying confident and just kind of going about my business on a daily basis.”

His growth was evident in Chicago, where he flashed versatility on the diamond. But that progress came to a sudden halt just a year ago when Mendick suffered an ACL tear that derailed a promising season.

“First time I ever actually had an injury," Mendick said. "So it was kind of like, what am I going to do? You know, not really sure of how it's going to work out and stuff like that, but it makes you mentally tougher. I think everyone that goes through it would say that you got to do a lot of different things that you're not used to. If you look back and say that, you know, 'this is this shouldn't have happened' and stuff like that, it's not the mindset that I have. My mindset is always everything's a blessing. I'm going to go out there no matter what happened. I tore my ACL, OK. It's a new opportunity, right?”

A year later, after a long rehab, Mendick is feeling like himself, making his mark on a new organization, embracing a leadership role. And he knows how quickly he and the Mets can turn things around.

“The first half hasn't really worked out too well for us," Mendick said. "You never really know. All of a sudden, things clicked in the second half and we start to do really well. And and that's what the goal is. You know, I think you kind of look at it right now, day by day. You take it, you go out there and you try to do your best and hope that, you know, when the second half rolls around, we're going to go out there and kick some butt. And, you know, hopefully, just continue to get better and keep it rolling.”