The Mets' decision to fire manager Carlos Mendoza has little to do with him

The New York Mets, in the midst of a shambolic 2026 campaign, fired manager Carlos Mendoza on Friday. Andy Green, who'd been serving as the club's senior vice president of baseball development, was announced as interim manager for the remainder of the season.

After a catastrophic end to last season, the Mets entered this year with an overhauled roster, a $350 million-plus payroll and sky-high expectations. But April injuries to cornerstones Juan Soto and Francisco Lindor sent them tailspinning down the standings. Bad starts from offseason acquisitions Bo Bichette, Freddy Peralta and Marcus Semien only made things worse. Mendoza, just weeks into the season, was very much on the hot seat.

That talk quieted somewhat after a decent stretch in mid-May. But a lack of consistency and long injury stints for guys such as Luis Robert Jr. and Jorge Polanco kept the Mets weighed down. Their most recent skid — a still-active six-game losing streak — proved to be the final straw for Mets brass, who saw firing Mendoza as the only viable path forward.

"Carlos has led the organization with passion and grace and is beloved by everyone who works with him on a daily basis," president of baseball operations David Searns said in a statement. "Carlos' impact on our players, staff, and culture over the last three seasons has been transformative. Unfortunately, we know we are falling short and change is necessary to move forward."

Mendoza's dismissal was equal parts predictable and shocking.

In 2024, his first season with the club, Mendoza finished third in Manager of the Year voting after leading the OMG Mets on an unexpected postseason run. That performance solidified a belief around the industry that Mendoza is an exceptionally skilled communicator. Backed by Stearns' baseball ops prowess and owner Steve Cohen's deep pockets, it seemed like Mendoza, in his mid-40s, could be in Queens for the long haul.

Even when things went south last season and into this season, there was an understanding within the Mets organization that little of it was Mendoza's fault. The roster was poorly constructed, the injuries ill-timed, the underperformance unexpected. Stearns, whose recent failures in Queens have shattered his wonderboy aura, publicly backed his manager in early May. Mendoza never came close to losing the clubhouse. As other scuffling outfits in Boston and Philadelphia parted ways with their skippers, the Mets opted to ride things out.

But while Stearns appreciated the long game, Cohen lingered in the background as a wild card. The hedge fund tycoon did not make billions upon billions by being a passive passenger. There was always a chance that Cohen, despite buying into Stearns' vision, would one day grow sick of all the losing.

That day, it seems, was Wednesday.

The Mets made six errors that night in a doubleheader sweep loss at home against the Cubs. It was a sloppy, lethargic, visually insulting performance. And it represented a departure of sorts. Despite the club's poor run of form, their losses were rarely actively embarrassing. Wednesday was different. It clearly pushed Cohen over the edge, leading to Mendoza's ouster.

"I want to express my deepest gratitude to Carlos Mendoza for his leadership and unwavering commitment. He represented this organization with integrity and dedication throughout, and I wish him and his family all the best," Cohen said in a prepared statement on Friday. "Our commitment to bringing our fans a championship-caliber team has not changed. There is no sugar coating it: this season has been a disappointment and our fans deserve better than what we've delivered."

Green, who managed the San Diego Padres from 2016 to 2019, now has quite the tall task ahead of him. A playoff push lies somewhere between improbable and impossible. His goal should be a return to competence and a shifting of the vibe. Highly regarded as a player development mind, Green could become the club's long-term skipper with a strong second half.

The likeliest scenario, though, is a league-wide search this winter. Former Red Sox manager Alex Cora, close with Mets legend and special assistant Carlos Beltran, will be in the mix. So too might Beltran, who was hired to helm the Mets in 2020 before his involvement in the Astros sign-stealing scandal led to his firing before he had a chance to manage a game.

Mendoza, for his part, will certainly manage again. He's sure to be a candidate for a number of job openings this winter, Phillies and Red Sox very much included. That won't lessen the sting of a dismally disappointing ending to a memorable tenure in New York. Because this should have worked. It's all a reminder that the problems in Queens go beyond Mendoza. 

At least he doesn't have to watch the 2026 Mets anymore.