The New York Mets have been one of baseball's biggest disappointments, and today they fired manager Carlos Mendoza.
The New York Mets finally pulled the trigger and fired embattled manager Carlos Mendoza, as their latest losing streak extended to six games after the Chicago Cubs swept their four-game series at Citi Field this week.
The Mets’ current record is 34-47 in a year in which they were at least expected to contend for a playoff berth. Mendoza was in this third season as manager, according to report by Jorge Castillo of ESPN, who also reported that former San Diego Padres manager Andy Green will step in as interim manager for the rest of the season.
GM David Stearns issued a statement that was largely perfunctory.
"Carlos has led the organization with passion and grace and is beloved by everyone who works with him on a daily basis," said Stearns in the statement. "Carlos' impact on our players, staff, and culture over the last three seasons has been transformative. Unfortunately, we know we are falling short and change is necessary to move forward."
Mendoza led the Mets to what Castillo called an “improbable” NLCS apearance in his first season in 2024, and he rode that success to keep the job despite the team’s extensive struggles since. His second season was a "disaster," according to the writer, as the Mets collapsed over the final three months of the season after posting the best record in baseball early on.
The Mets have the second-most expensive payroll in baseball, but they’ve been inept from the start, with a poor offense riddled with lineup holes and rotation that’s been in chaos almost since Opening Day.
The straw that may have been Mendoza’s undoing was the amazingly poor defense the Mets played against the Cubs this week, as they had a six-error game along with allowing four unearned runs in their loss last night.
Mendoza went into this season as a lame-duck manager, and the Mets fired his entire coaching staff after last season’s collapse. Stearns overhauled the roster based in part on a clubhouse incident last season between shortstop Francisco Lindor and former second baseman Jeff McNeil, who was traded to the Athletics.
Almost none of the moves have worked, so there is a small amount of scapegoating going on here. Injuries have taken out second baseman Marcus Semien, infielder Jorge Polanco and centerfielder Luis Robert Jr., but other new Mets like infielder Bo Bichette and starter Freddy Peralta have largely underperformed.
The Mets are now 15 games out in the NL East, and they’re currently 9.5 games behind in the wild-card race with a half-dozen teams ahead of them. It will be interesting to see if the brand of baseball improves under Green, who managed the Padres from 2016-19 and joined the organization in 2023, formerly serving as senior vice president of baseball development.
