Mets fire manager Carlos Mendoza after team stumbles to 34-47 start despite massive payroll

The New York Mets fired manager Carlos Mendoza on Friday, the team announced.

The move comes with the team in the midst of a miserable season, in which the Mets sit at just 34-47 — one of the worst records in the National League — despite entering the year with one of the highest payrolls in MLB.

Andy Green will take over as the team's interim manager, the team announced.

Mendoza's dismissal is the third managerial change this season. The two other teams to make changes — the Boston Red Sox and Philadelphia Phillies — acted early, with Boston firing Alex Cora and Philadelphia firing Rob Thomson in April.

As much as that pair underperformed to begin 2026, those were managers who had won a World Series (Cora) and reached a World Series (Thomson). Mendoza had seen no such success in his two-plus years at the helm for the Mets. Despite that, Mendoza was given nearly two extra months on the job, as the Mets hoped he could pull the team out of its April tailspin.

That wasn't the case. Following a strong start to the season, in which the team went 7-4 to open the year, the Mets dropped 12 games in a row in April. It was their worst losing streak since 2002, a span of time that includes some very bad baseball teams under the Wilpon family, the franchise's previous owners.

The team actually managed to recover from that miserable month, turning in a 16-12 record in May. While that wasn't enough to push the team to .500, it offered promise that maybe the team could turn things around the rest of the way.

But the Mets fell back to their losing ways in June. After starting the month 8-8, the team dropped two straight to the division-rival Phillies and then were swept in a four-game series against the Chicago Cubs.

That Cubs series, which saw the Mets give up 29 runs over the first three games — including allowing 20 runs across two games of a doubleheader Wednesday — seemed to be the breaking point for Mendoza, and potentially for the Mets' season.

The second game of that doubleheader, in particular, may have been the final nail in the coffin for Mendoza. The Mets' infield made six errors in the contest, a 10-5 loss. Following the sixth error of the game, both the team's fans and broadcasters seemed fed up with the on-field product.

Mendoza got one more game at the helm, a 4-3 loss to the Cubs, before he was relieved of his duties Friday.

The Mets originally hired Mendoza, then the bench coach of the New York Yankees, after the 2023 season to replace the fired Buck Showalter. Since Terry Collins' seven-year stint ended in 2017, none of Mendoza, Showalter, Luis Rojas or Mickey Callaway have reached a full three years as Mets manager.

Green was previously hired by the Mets in 2023 and has been working in the team's front office. He does have managerial experience, leading the San Diego Padres to a 274-366 record over four seasons before being fired in 2019.

A 12-game losing streak was only part of the issue for the Mets

The Mets entered this season with clear World Series aspirations despite missing the playoffs with an 83-79 record last year.

They did lose star first baseman Pete Alonso and closer Edwin Díaz in free agency, but responded by spending big on infielder Bo Bichette (three years, $136 million), replacement closer Devin Williams (three years, $51 million), infielder Jorge Polanco (two years, $40 million) and set-up man Luke Weaver (two years, $22 million). They also swung some big trades for Freddy Peralta, Marcus Semien and Luis Robert Jr.

All of that added up to the second-largest payroll in baseball behind the Los Angeles Dodgers, the franchise New York has clearly been trying to emulate since owner Steve Cohen purchased the team.

Nearly every single one of those players have faltered in 2026. Bichette was hitting just .219 when June began, and has only just started to turn his season around. Williams has a 4.44 ERA on the season, though his struggles have really been limited to just two outings, where he gave up two grand slams. Semien is hitting just .214 over 80 games, Polanco and Robert both struggled before getting hurt and Peralta has posted a 4.53 ERA and looks nothing like the ace the team thought it acquired in the offseason.

Weaver is the only member of that group performing at — or above — expectations. He has a 2.12 ERA over 34 innings.

Following that second loss in the doubleheader to the Cubs, the front office seemed to admit the 2026 season was a failure. Lefty starter David Peterson was flipped to the Cubs in exchange for infield prospect Cole Mathis.

Peterson, who made the All-Star team last season, had a 6.09 ERA over 68 innings in 2026, but a 3.85 FIP, perhaps a results of the Mets' miserable infield defense.

While Mendoza shouldn't take the full brunt of his players' struggles, his inability to get the team back on track, and the sloppiness the team showed during that second doubleheader loss to the Cubs, ultimately resulted in the team deciding he wasn't the man to right the ship in New York.