New York Mets manager Carlos Mendoza is “doing a great job,” according to Mets president of baseball operations David Stearns.
The Mets have struggled out of the gate so far in 2026, going 7-13 through the first 20 games of the season. Given that the Mets have the second-highest payroll in MLB at $381 million, the team has been an utter disappointment so far this year, just one season after they missed the playoffs by one game.
During the offseason, the Mets handed Bo Bichette a three-year, $126 million contract to play third base for the first time in his career, and the results have not been pretty so far. Meanwhile, outfielder Juan Soto is on the injured list, and shortstop Francisco Lindor has been criticized for making errors in the field. Overall, it has been a bad start to the year for the Mets, and it has some fans and media speculating that Mendoza could fall on the sword for the team’s struggles.
However, while many believe Mendoza is on the hot seat, Stearns threw cold water on that idea. Speaking to reporters Friday in Chicago after the Mets opened up a weekend series against the Chicago Cubs, Stearns said he is committed to Mendoza managing the Mets going forward.
“No. I think Mendy is doing a really good job. I think he’s putting our players in position to succeed. He’s enormously consistent. So, no, I don’t agree with that,” Stearns said of whether or not Mendoza should be more heavily scrutinized (via SNY).
When asked why he is so confident that Mendoza is the man to lead the Mets back to the playoffs, Stearns said there are several reasons for that.
“I think both in terms of how he’s managing in the clubhouse, how he’s getting guys to the right pockets, whether it’s matchups out of the bullpen, the right matchups in games. I think he’s doing a good job,” Stearns said.
Carlos Mendoza is in His Third Year With the Mets
The Mets hired Mendoza to be the team’s manager ahead of the 2024 season. In his first year as the Mets’ leader, the team went 89-73 and made the playoffs as a Wild Card team. They beat the Milwaukee Brewers in the Wild Card Series and the Philadelphia Phillies in the Divisional Series before losing to the Los Angeles Dodgers in the Championship Series.
However, 2025 was a step backwards for the Mets. After signing Soto to an MLB-record contract for 15 years and $765 million, the Mets missed the playoffs by just one game. This past offseason, the Mets signed Bichette to a big-money contract and traded for ace Freddy Peralta from the Brewers, while letting former first base slugger Pete Alonso go. So far, those offseason moves haven’t paid off, as the Mets are in last place in the NL East after 20 games this season, behind low-payroll teams like the Miami Marlins and Washington Nationals.
Mets Are in a Tough Division
The NL East is a tough division, so the Mets can’t dig themselves into too big a hole, or else they won’t be able to recover.
The Atlanta Braves have had a bounce-back year so far and are leading the division, while the Phillies, Marlins, and Nationals are all in the mix for an NL Wild Card spot. The Mets, meanwhile, are in the division’s basement despite having the heaviest payroll of any team in it. It has been a bad season, and the team is going to need all 26 of its players, plus Mendoza, to do a better job if they are going to turn things around and make a legitimate postseason push.
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