The New York Mets seemingly want to continue their rollercoaster season. Once again, the conversation in Queens isn’t just about the standings, it’s about the skipper in the dugout.
Carlos Mendoza, the manager who was hailed as a steadying hand back in April, now finds himself in the middle of swirling rumors that his seat might be heating up. But if you ask David Stearns, the man running the Mets’ baseball operations, those rumors are just noise.
“Oh yeah, Mendy’s doing a great job,” Stearns told Joel Sherman and Jon Heyman on The Show podcast. “I think he’s the right person for this job.” And he doubled down, insisting Mendoza is safe not just for this season, but through at least the start of 2026. That’s a pretty firm endorsement — at least on paper.
Here’s the wrinkle, though: there’s a persistent perception that Mendoza wasn’t Stearns’ first choice. When Stearns arrived from Milwaukee in October 2023, everyone assumed he’d bring Craig Counsell with him. The two had been joined at the hip in Milwaukee, and Counsell was the hot commodity on the market. Instead, Counsell shocked the league by signing a record-setting deal with the Cubs. That left Stearns pivoting to Mendoza, who became the face of the Mets’ dugout.
Mets Are All Over The Place This Season
Early results were rough. By late May, the Mets were sinking at 22–33, looking like yet another cautionary tale for New York. Then came Francisco Lindor’s players-only meeting, which seemed to flip the switch. Suddenly, the Mets were charging, finishing last year’s run with an NLCS trip and this year storming out to a 45–24 record by mid-June. Mendoza was being praised for keeping the team loose and locked in.
The script flipped quickly, however. Since June 12, the Mets have looked more like the “Amazins” in name only, stumbling to a pedestrian 70–61. They’re six games back of the Phillies, and while they currently hold a wild-card spot, it feels tenuous at best. Mets fans know this story — the collapse always seems to lurk right around the corner.
So yes, Stearns gave Mendoza a public vote of confidence. But history tells us those votes don’t always cash when the checks come due. And let’s not forget who’s signing those checks: Steve Cohen. The richest owner in baseball didn’t pour billions into this roster to miss October baseball. If the New York Mets flame out and become the new “Worst Team Money Could Buy,” it’s hard to imagine Cohen won’t at least ask himself whether Mendoza is the right man for 2025 and beyond.
