New York Mets manager Carlos Mendoza should worry less about his future with team now after receiving backing from president of baseball operations David Stearns.
Despite a 10-21 start, which included a 12-game losing streak, the organization isn’t pinning the current state of the team on the manager.
“We know our record is not what we want, and we know we are capable of more,” Stearns told MLB.com’s Anthony DiComo. “We don’t view this as a manager problem, and we don’t intend to make a change.”
Through 31 games the Mets have recorded the second-fewest runs scored (106), fifth-fewest hits (235), posted the worst OPS (.631), and are tied for third-worst batting average (.227) in MLB. Injuries have played a part in the dismal start with shortstop Francisco Lindor, outfielder Luis Robert Jr, infielder Jorge Polanco, starting pitcher Kodai Senga and reliever A.J. Minter currently on the injured list. Juan Soto also missed 15 games due to a calf strain.
While the Boston Red Sox and Philadelphia Phillies recently dismissed their managers, Stearns and team owner Steve Cohen have reportedly not discussed moving on from the 46-year-old Mendoza, who was hired in 2004 and led the team to the NLCS the following year.
Stearns and the front office are hoping for a repeat of 2024, Mendoza’s first season in charge when the Mets opened up 24-35 and finished 89-73 to earn one of the NL wild cards.
Ahead of the start of spring training in February, Cohen said he gets more “annoyed” each year the team doesn’t win and that “table stakes is making the playoffs” in 2026 and that missing out two straight seasons is “not good.”
Mendoza, who is in the final guaranteed year of his contract, is getting this lifeline as the team begins a nine-game road trip where they will play the Los Angeles Angels, Colorado Rockies and Arizona Diamondbacks. The Mets will return home May 12 to face the Detroit Tigers before the first Subway Series of the season against the New York Yankees.
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