NEW YORK — Rolling into Citi Field for a weekend series will be a work trip with a significant degree of difficulty as the Mets have the best record in the majors at 45-24 and have dominated at home with a 27-7 mark.

“They’re a very talented team,” said Rays manager Kevin Cash, noting, among strengths, the power provided by Tampa’s Pete Alonso, Juan Soto, Francisco Lindor and Brandon Nimmo.

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But there will be some fun for at least a few Rays, as reliever Eric Orze and outfielder Jake Mangum started their careers in the Mets organization and still have plenty of friends turned foes.

“Excited for sure,” said Orze, a 2020 draftee who was traded to the Rays last November for now-injured outfielder Jose Siri. “There’s a lot of good people over there, a lot of friends. I have a lot of just like life experience with a lot of people that are over there.

“Baseball is weird. It’s a small world. Everybody kind of pulls for each other until they’re on the other side of the diamond from you. But definitely excited to go back and see everybody. Just grateful for the opportunity. It’s going to be fun for sure.”

Though infielder Mark Vientos, who roomed with Orze for two years at Triple-A Syracuse, is injured, Orze is looking forward to competing against other former minor-league mates such as catcher Francisco Alvarez and infielders Brett Baty and Ronny Mauricio, among others.

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“I’ve spent a lot of time with all those guys … so they’ll probably be a couple moments to some degree,” Orze said. “Once the ball is in play, it’s like I’m here to get a job done and that’s the main focus. But I’m sure it’ll be something we look back on and have a couple laughs over whichever way it goes.”

Mangum, a 2019 draftee, came up with many of the same players (rooming with Baty, who remains a close friend), and has similar feelings about them, having been traded to the Marlins in December 2022, and then to the Rays the next year.

“When you get drafted by the Mets, your dream every day is ‘I want to get to Citi Field,’ ” Mangum said. “To be able to go play them this week is going to mean a lot.

“I loved my time with the Mets. I made a lot of good friends over there that I still talk to all the time. I’m pulling for those guys like normal. I hope we have a really good weekend in New York, and I hope that they play really good after we leave.”

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Orze debuted for the Mets in July 2024 and pitched once at Citi Field. Mangum was part of the 2019 minor-league Brooklyn Cyclones team that was honored there prior to a game.

Rays reliever Cole Sulser is also a former Met, having spent the first part of the 2024 season with them.

Bradley eyes bounce back

Taj Bradley is coming off a rough last start for the Rays, getting knocked out in the fifth inning Saturday, allowing seven Miami runs.

Though only 24, he said having been in the majors for three seasons has taught him how to flush those kind of outings and move on.

He knows the Mets provide a challenge and also has a Citi Field memory, having worked five solid innings there on May 18, 2023, in his fourth major-league start.

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“I thought it was cool,” he said. “It had kind of like an animated feel to it. The Jumbotron is real obnoxiously big and stuff like that. The fans are awesome. The stadium looks nice.”

Miscellany

Infielder/outfielder Richie Palacios (right knee sprain) went 0-for-3 with a walk in his second rehab game with the Florida Complex League team and is expected to join Triple-A Durham on Saturday. … The Rays may have updates Friday on the status of reliever Manny Rodriguez, who was seeing Dr. Koco Eaton on Thursday about his sore elbow, and infielder Ha-Seong Kim, whose 20-day rehab at Durham is set to expire Saturday.

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