The New York Mets dismissed manager Carlos Mendoza on Friday after a season that has fallen well short of expectations. Despite a competitive balance tax payroll topping $375 million — the second-highest total in baseball behind the Los Angeles Dodgers — the club sits 34-47, in last place in the National League East and mired in a six-game losing streak following a four-game, error-filled home sweep at the hands of the Chicago Cubs.
ESPN MLB experts Jorge Castillo and David Schoenfield pointed to a string of ugly results as the proximate cause of the move. The team surrendered 54 runs across those six defeats, including 15 runs to the Philadelphia Phillies last Saturday, and committed six infield errors in the second game of Wednesday’s doubleheader that completed the Cubs sweep. Castillo described the recent stretch as an embarrassment and said the Mets had looked lifeless; Schoenfield called the six-error game the final straw for owner Steve Cohen and general manager David Stearns and said it signaled a team that appeared ill-prepared to play.
Castillo also cited a broader pattern of problems. He called the situation a “perfect storm” of instability, underperformance and injuries and noted the organization had overhauled Mendoza’s coaching staff during the offseason. While injuries have been a factor, both analysts agreed the collapse of fundamentals put the manager in the spotlight.
Andy Green will serve as manager for the remainder of the season. Green is a former major-league player who managed the San Diego Padres for nearly four seasons until his dismissal in September 2019, later worked as the Chicago Cubs’ bench coach under David Ross, and was hired by the Mets as vice president for player development before the 2024 season. Green previously interviewed for the Mets’ managerial opening after the 2023 season, according to ESPN.
Several names have surfaced as possible long-term options. The organization did not elevate bench coach Kai Correa; other internal and external candidates mentioned by ESPN include special assistant Carlos Beltrán — who was hired to manage the Mets after 2019 but was dismissed before spring training for his role in the Houston Astros sign-stealing scandal and returned to the club in 2023 — David Ross, recently fired Boston manager Alex Cora, Rocco Baldelli and Detroit bench coach George Lombard. The Mets, carrying the second-largest payroll in baseball, now face difficult decisions about their roster and leadership as the season progresses.
