The Mets are out to an awful start, which is a situation that often puts a manager in the hot seat. However, president of baseball operations David Stearns downplayed the likelihood of manager Carlos Mendoza getting the sack. “We know our record is not what we want, and we know we are capable of more,” Stearns told Anthony DiComo of MLB.com. “We don’t view this as a manager problem, and we don’t intend to make a change.”
The spotlight seemed to pivot to Mendoza in the past week when manager firing season began. The Red Sox got things started by canning Alex Cora last weekend, giving the interim job to Chad Tracy. The Phillies followed suit by letting Rob Thomson go. That job was offered to Cora but he declined, so Don Mattingly has taken over on an interim basis.
Like the Red Sox and Phillies, the Mets came into the 2026 season with every intention of contending but have fallen flat in the early going. Despite having the second-highest payroll in baseball, behind the Dodgers, the Mets have the worst record in baseball at 10-21.
How much blame lies at the feet of the manager in such situations is something that has been debated throughout baseball history and that will surely continue to be the case. A skipper certainly does make some decisions that impact results, such as setting the lineup and making pitching changes, but how much those things can actually impact the win-loss is debatable. Some feel a manager’s job as a strategist is essential while others feel that role is overblown and a skipper is more about being a motivational clubhouse leader.
In the case of the Mets, one could take either side of the debate. As a team, the Mets are hitting .227/.289/.342 this year. That results in a wRC+ of 80, indicating the entire team is 20% below league average. They’re the worst team in the majors in that category. Eight guys on the team have taken at least 70 plate appearances, a group that doesn’t include Juan Soto since he spent time on the IL. Of those eight, Francisco Alvarez is the team leader with a 104 wRC+. Bo Bichette, Marcus Semien, Brett Baty and Carson Benge are all below 70.
The pitching is a bit better but still not great. Their 4.17 earned run average is very middle of the pack, putting them 15th out of the 30 teams in the majors. David Peterson, Sean Manaea and Kodai Senga have each posted ERAs north of 6.00 in samples of 20 innings or more. Devin Williams and Luke Weaver were supposed to be the lockdown bullpen arms but Williams has an ERA of 8.00 and Weaver is at 6.00.
An endless debate could be had about what role Mendoza plays in those numbers. One side could argue a manager should find ways to wring better results from his players. The other camp could say the manager can only do so much if the players aren’t performing. Stearns has been consistent in his viewpoint. “I think Mendy’s doing a very good job,” Stearns said two weeks ago, per SNY Mets. “I think Mendy is putting players in position to succeed and we need to go out and play better.” Today’s comments echo those.
It will be unwelcome news for those who want heads to roll but it seems the Mets don’t view the manager as the key issue, at least for now. If the struggles continue, it’s possible the club’s desire to make a change will grow.
Mendoza is in the final guaranteed year of his three-year contract. They won 89 games in 2024 and went to the NLCS. Last year, they were on an even better pace for most of the year. They were 62-47 through July but had an awful August and September, going 21-32. That put them at 83-79 and just outside the playoff picture. Mendoza’s deal has a club option for 2027. The events of the coming months will determine if that seems likely to be picked up.
Photo courtesy of Brad Penner, Imagn Images
$400 million payroll
On pace for 110 losses
They will make a netflix documentary 1 day about the utter humiliation and unbelievable historic incompetence & failure of this season
Where r all the geniuses who post here about muts? The ones who said “lets give mendoza & stearns more time, another chance” “bichette great signing!” “Semien great trade!” “Polanco, devin, luis robert yes yes yes this is gonna work!!” Where r u geniuses and experts now come out come out wherever u are lets have a chat
FFS. Grow up.
What do you want to talk about? I support Steams and had no problem with his moves with the exception of the bullpen, which I thought looked really shaky.
Obviously almost nothing has worked but most of those moves were logical.
The Mets are way better than this but the hole is so big and the injuries are getting so pronounced that they almost certainly won’t get back to .500. Even if by some miracle they go on a crazy run, the NL has so many good teams that even 90 wins won’t guarantee a postseason spot.
Their season is done.
Hey man, whatever you’re struggling with in your life, focus on that. You can get through this
Why waste money on a new manager during a lost season? Already just focused on hiring cheater Cora for next year. Plus he’s right, he should be fired not the manager who didn’t put this crappy team together
We all know what that means….look out below!
I’ve been saying for 3 years that they should fire Stearns and Mendoza and everyone called me a moron. Looks like I was right again. This organization is a joke. Why hire a first time manager with a payroll over 400 million? Why fire the whole coaching staff except the coach? And why make Kai Correa the bench coach, he looks like a 13 year old with big glasses. Why get a pitching coach with no experience that is younger then 50% of the roster? Awful GM. They can pay me 10 million a year and I garentee I’d do a better job then him. Thats his salary for losing so many games
As a Braves fan, I hope they don’t make a change at GM/manager. Please don’t. Wheel is beyond broken, but keep drivin’ that $400M Rolls Royce — you can make it to the next rest stop. Don’t look back. You got this!
“I think Mendy’s doing a very good job” — David Stearns on Mets manager Carlos Mendoza, 2026 during a race to the bottom.
“Brownie, you’re doing a heck of a job” — George W. Bush to FEMA director Michael Brown, 2005 following Hurricane Katrina.
Notice the similarities?
this was not the year for a national league team to stumble out of the gate
MLBPA is gonna love using the Mets as example to why not to have a salary cap
It’s a long season, and it’s not even Memorial Day…. 🙂
Need a GM change. That was one of the worst offseasons I’ve ever seen. One terrible decision after another.
If Mendoza wins a couple of more games Stearns will probably give him a contract extension.
Projected payroll plus luxury tax penalties….over $480mm. And a team unlikely to finish over .500??? Yikes!
I believe they are actually OFF to an awful start.
Mendoza is being made the patsy. The Mets keep playing like trash and Mendy takes all the arrows
Coward
The problem with the current Mets team is terrible roster decisions by Stearns. If I were the owner, Stearns would be the one I’d be firing.