{"id":5344,"date":"2026-06-27T11:04:26","date_gmt":"2026-06-27T11:04:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/?p=5344"},"modified":"2026-06-27T11:04:26","modified_gmt":"2026-06-27T11:04:26","slug":"after-firing-mendoza-heat-intensifies-on-stearns-as-last-place-mets-look-for-a-path-forward","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/?p=5344","title":{"rendered":"After firing Mendoza, heat intensifies on Stearns as last-place Mets look for a path forward"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\"\"<\/figure>\n\n
FILE – New York Mets manager Carlos Mendoza before a baseball game against the Washington Nationals, Thursday, May 21, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo\/Nick Wass, File)<\/figcaption>\n<\/figure>\n

NEW YORK \u2014 Carlos Mendoza is out. Just like Pete Alonso, Edwin Diaz, Brandon Nimmo and Jeff McNeil.<\/p>

Read more Pro-Israel influencers criticize Vance, but evangelicals remain open to him<\/a><\/p>\n

Last year\u2019s coaching staff, too.<\/p>\n

And maybe a few more quality players by the Aug. 3 trade deadline. Freddy Peralta? Clay Holmes?<\/p>\n

In the past eight months, president of baseball operations David Stearns has remodeled the reeling New York Mets to a degree that probably would have seemed just about unthinkable on June 12, 2025.<\/p>\n

On that date, New York had the best record in the majors. Barely more than a year ago. But not much has gone right since.<\/p>\n

On the field. … In the dugout. … Anywhere.<\/p>\n

The latest big move came Friday, exactly halfway through a dismal season, when Mendoza was fired as manager<\/a> of the underperforming Mets<\/a> and replaced by former San Diego Padres skipper Andy Green, who was already working in the organization.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn my estimation, our estimation, change is needed right now,\u201d Stearns said. \u201cClearly, we\u2019ve fallen short.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Mets were 34-47 at the midway point, 15 games behind NL East-leading Atlanta<\/a> and 9 1\/2 back of the final NL wild-card berth.<\/p>\n

Then they went out and lost their seventh consecutive game,<\/a> 2-1 to the rival Philadelphia Phillies. New York has been outscored 56-23 during the slide.<\/p>\n

Mets owner Steve Cohen had high expectations for a team without a World Series title since 1986. New York opened the season with baseball\u2019s biggest payroll at $358 million<\/a> and was projected to pay an additional $124 million in luxury tax.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere is no sugar-coating it: This season has been a disappointment and our fans deserve better than what we\u2019ve delivered,\u201d Cohen said in a statement.<\/p>\n

So with Stearns cutting loose so many Mets in uniform, how long does he have to repair this expensive wreck before Cohen decides he\u2019s seen enough and points the finger of culpability at the guy running his front office?<\/p>\n

And hands him his own one-way ticket out of town.<\/p>\n

Stearns grew up a Mets fan in Manhattan and teamed with Mendoza to take the franchise on a surprising playoff run to the 2024 National League Championship Series during their first season with New York.<\/p>\n

Then the club signed slugger Juan Soto to a record $765 million, 15-year contract<\/a> before the 2025 season and went a big league-best 45-24 through June 12 that year.<\/p>\n

But since then, the Mets are 72-103 and they missed the playoffs last season.<\/p>\n

This year\u2019s club has been hampered by injuries to Soto, Holmes, Francisco Lindor and others. Stearns, a small-market success while running the Milwaukee Brewers before coming home to New York, alienated Mets backers by letting fan favorites such as Alonso and Diaz leave as free agents last offseason. Nimmo and McNeil were traded, and replacements like Bo Bichette, Marcus Semien, Jorge Polanco and Luis Robert Jr. have either missed extensive time with injuries or vastly underperformed.<\/p>\n

Mendoza\u2019s coaching staff was overhauled last winter, too, with poor results thus far.<\/p>

Read more Belgium\u2019s Leandro Trossard adds to successful year with 2 goals in World Cup win over New Zealand<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cI understand fans\u2019 skepticism. If I were sitting in the fans\u2019 seat, I would share that,\u201d Stearns said. \u201cWe all came into the season believing we were going to have a better year. … This is never on one person. It\u2019s certainly not all on Carlos. As I said, I take responsibility for our record on the field. I take responsibility for the entirety of our baseball operations department.\u201d<\/p>\n

At a Citi Field news conference Friday afternoon, Stearns was asked point blank if he has considered stepping aside.<\/p>\n

\u201cI have not,\u201d said Stearns, in the third season of a five-year contract. \u201cI believe that we are building the foundation of an organization that can deliver what we all want. I don\u2019t believe that our record on the field this year is indicative of some of the advancements that we\u2019ve made as an organization. But clearly, our record is nowhere good enough.\u201d<\/p>\n

Stearns said he believes ownership still has confidence in him.<\/p>\n

\u201cSteve and I are talking on a regular basis, and he\u2019s certainly indicated that I have his support,\u201d Stearns said.<\/p>\n

The next step could include pivoting to a selloff this summer and retooling for the future.<\/p>\n

Peralta, a two-time All-Star pitcher acquired from Milwaukee for two highly regarded prospects, is eligible for free agency after the World Series. Holmes, who could return to the mound in August from his broken leg, can also become a free agent next offseason by declining his $12 million player option, which seems likely.<\/p>\n

So the Mets might look to trade them by Aug. 3 to guarantee at least something in return during a lost season.<\/p>\n

New York already sent pitcher David Peterson, who had been the team\u2019s longest-tenured player, to the Chicago Cubs<\/a> on Thursday for a minor leaguer. Peterson also can become a free agent this fall.<\/p>\n

\u201cI understand we have an uphill battle ahead of us this year, but we\u2019re not turning the page,\u201d Stearns said. \u201cI think sometimes a new voice, a new perspective, a new view, helps. And sometimes it\u2019s really difficult to explain why or how. But at this point, it was time to try.\u201d<\/p>\n

The 48-year-old Green, a former major league infielder, joined the Mets in 2023 as senior vice president of baseball development and had been running their farm system. He was given the title of interim manager for the rest of this season.<\/p>\n

After that, Stearns said Green will return to a front-office role and the Mets will conduct a full search for a new manager.<\/p>\n

New York could also look to hire an experienced general manager under Stearns to give him additional help.<\/p>\n

\u201cI understand our fans\u2019 frustration and anger. I think I share that. And we will do everything we can to improve,\u201d Stearns said.<\/p>\n

___<\/p>\n

AP Baseball Writer Ronald Blum and AP freelancer Jerry Beach contributed to this report.<\/p>

Read more Cape Verde\u2019s dream run continues, becoming smallest country into World Cup knockout round<\/a><\/p>\n

___<\/p>\n

AP MLB: https:\/\/apnews.com\/hub\/mlb<\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Carlos Mendoza is out<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":5342,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5344","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-interesting"],"yoast_head":"\nAfter firing Mendoza, heat intensifies on Stearns as last-place Mets look for a path forward - Moving Insider USA<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/?p=5344\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"After firing Mendoza, heat intensifies on Stearns as last-place Mets look for a path forward - Moving Insider USA\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Carlos Mendoza is out\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/?p=5344\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Moving Insider USA\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-06-27T11:04:26+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/6b691dd91343220463ed5f12c42dafc4-scaled.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"2560\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1707\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"5 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/?p=5344#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/?p=5344\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/22d40ab81790f6a361021763bb56ef03\"},\"headline\":\"After firing Mendoza, heat intensifies on Stearns as last-place Mets look for a path forward\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-06-27T11:04:26+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/?p=5344\"},\"wordCount\":1057,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/?p=5344#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/69d35e2f9cf9144c21bdb2d13a542de0-scaled.jpg\",\"articleSection\":[\"Interesting\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/?p=5344#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/?p=5344\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/?p=5344\",\"name\":\"After firing Mendoza, heat intensifies on Stearns as last-place Mets look for a path forward - Moving Insider USA\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/?p=5344#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/?p=5344#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/69d35e2f9cf9144c21bdb2d13a542de0-scaled.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-06-27T11:04:26+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/22d40ab81790f6a361021763bb56ef03\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/?p=5344#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/?p=5344\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/?p=5344#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/69d35e2f9cf9144c21bdb2d13a542de0-scaled.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/69d35e2f9cf9144c21bdb2d13a542de0-scaled.jpg\",\"width\":2560,\"height\":1707,\"caption\":\"FILE - New York Mets manager Carlos Mendoza before a baseball game against the Washington Nationals, Thursday, May 21, 2026, in Washington. 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