Carlos Mendoza’s first test as Mets manager is how he handles Jeff McNeil-Rhys Hoskins incident

FLUSHING -This is really only an issue because of the change in the slide rule, of course. Or the Chase Utley/Ruben Tejada rule, if you will.

Rhys Hoskins’ slide into Jeff McNeil wasn’t dirty like the Utley slide that broke Tejada’s leg, but it was late and came perilously close to causing injury to McNeil’s left knee. By rule, it looked illegal because Hoskins slid past the bag but the umpires ruled it legal in that he was able to maintain contact with the base.

In any case, the point is the Mets didn’t like it, which raises the question of whether they should do something about it.

It seems especially relevant because of what became such an issue last year when they never retaliated for Pete Alonso repeatedly getting hit by pitches.

It was a mystery to people who knew Buck Showalter, including myself, that the Mets never felt the need to let their best player know they had his back.

So now suddenly the spotlight turns on Carlos Mendoza in a way he surely wasn’t anticipating, coming off an Opening Day 3-1 loss to Freddy Peralta and the Milwaukee Brewers at Citi Field.

Does he let his pitchers know that somebody needs to drill Hoskins in the backside as a way of letting everyone know there’s a new sheriff in town?

Mendoza may be a rookie manager but he’s been around the game for a long time. It will be intriguing to see if he wants to set a tone in that way.

Based on the slide itself, I can’t advocate for retaliation, the way I was last year, because I don’t think the offense rises to that level.

But if the Mets’ players feel Hoskins went over the line, then as a manager you need to have a feel for that. If you want them to run through a wall for you, this might be a surefire way to create a bond.

Obviously, McNeil felt it was over the line. He reacted furiously, gesturing and yelling at Hoskins, causing players to come streaming out of the dugout and bullpen. And afterward, some of his teammates made it clear they felt Hoskins was targeting McNeil.

“It’s one thing playing hard,” Alonso said, “but going and getting him…it’s happened in the past. When he was with Philly he went and got Jeff in the past. He didn’t get him that hard. But he definitely slid past the bag.’’

“The slide was late,” added Francisco Lindor. “They ruled it legal but it was late. He got him in the knee. It was an ugly play.”

After the game, McNeil stopped short of labeling it a dirty slide, but he was still clearly angry, partly because he said he wasn’t even trying to turn a double play because of Brett Baty’s low throw, and partly because he too said Hoskins has come after him in the past.

“He’s had some pretty questionable slides at second base for sure,” McNeil said. “I remember looking at some in the past there were definitely not ok. So I knew there was a chance he’d be coming in like that.

“I’m fortunate that Baty didn’t hit me in the chest with the throw. If he hits me in the chest, that’s one of the ugliest slides ever because I’m going to try and turn it, and be going toward him…and he already made up his mind.”

Hoskins, for his part, said he was “just playing the game hard, playing the game the right way,” but he also gave the impression he thinks McNeil is a whiner, after mocking him from the dugout with a crybaby gesture.

“He seems to be complaining when things aren’t going well,” Hoskins said. “I think that’s kind of one of those moments.”

Hoskins has no fondness for the Mets, in general. He famously took a 34-second home run trot, one of the slowest ever, after taking offense to being hit by a pitch a couple of years ago when he was with the Philadelphia Phillies.

So there’s a lot of history here. The Hoskins history. The Mets’ non-retaliation history.

Lindor, remember, at the end of last season was quoted saying maybe the Mets should have gotten into a brawl at some point, in the hope of galvanizing an underperforming ballclub.

So I asked him if he thought the Mets needed to respond or send a message in some way to the Hoskins slide.

“We came out of the dugout, that is a message,” Lindor said. “Do I want to see people get hit? Not really. People getting hit could end up getting hurt.

“With that being said, we’ll see what happens. We’ve just gotta play the games. We’ve gotta continue to play the games.”

There’s room for interpretation in what he said there, so who knows? Maybe the best response is to come back after getting dominated by Peralta and beat the Brewers the next two days, then thank Hoskins for giving them a rallying cry of sorts.

Either way, we’re going to find out a little more about Mendoza and the 2024 Mets in the next couple of days than we might have otherwise.