Mets Fire Carlos Mendoza, Name Andy Green Interim

The New York Mets dismissed Carlos Mendoza as manager on June 26, 2026, with the club sitting at 34–47 , 15 games behind Atlanta in the NL East and nine-and-a-half games out of the final National League Wild Card spot , and named front-office executive Andy Green as interim manager for the remainder of the season, according to the team's official announcement.

The Decision and What Led to It

New York had lost six consecutive games entering the announcement and arrived at the season's midpoint 13 games below .500. That same week brought a four-game sweep at the hands of the Chicago Cubs at Citi Field, including a 10–5 loss in the nightcap of a June 24 doubleheader in which the Mets committed six errors , the most in a single game since 2014, according to the Associated Press.

The skid extended a pattern set early in 2026. In April, the Mets lost 12 straight, their longest streak since 2002. By the time president of baseball operations David Stearns announced the move on June 26, the club had spent most of the year in a hole it could not escape.

Stearns said in the team's official statement: "Carlos has led the organization with passion and grace and is beloved by everyone who works with him on a daily basis. 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."

Owner Steve Cohen echoed that in his own statement, saying he wanted to express his "deepest gratitude" to Mendoza for his "leadership and unwavering commitment," while adding: "Our commitment to bringing our fans a championship-caliber team has not changed."

The Mets entered 2026 carrying what the Associated Press reported as MLB's highest payroll at $358 million, with a projected competitive-balance tax bill of $124 million. Juan Soto's presence alone accounted for a 15-year, $765 million contract , the largest in professional sports history , signed ahead of the 2025 season. At 34–47, the club was on a pace to finish roughly 68–94. The gap between that investment and a team of that trajectory made a managerial change difficult to argue against, though Stearns himself had publicly resisted one as recently as May 1, saying: "We know our record is not what we want, and we know we are capable of more. We don't view this as a manager problem, and we don't intend to make a change."

Mendoza became the third MLB manager dismissed in 2026, after Alex Cora of the Red Sox and Rob Thomson of the Phillies, both fired in April. He was also the first Mets manager fired during an active season since Willie Randolph in 2008.

Mendoza's Three Seasons in New York

Mendoza was hired on November 13, 2023, on a contract guaranteeing three seasons through 2026 with a club option for a fourth year. The option was not exercised, according to ESPN.

His final record with the club was 206–199, a figure confirmed by the Associated Press and reflected in reports from CBS Sports and multiple wire outlets.

His first season was the best. The 2024 Mets went 89–73, earned a Wild Card berth, beat Milwaukee and then Philadelphia to reach the National League Championship Series, and lost to the Los Angeles Dodgers in six games. Mendoza finished third in NL Manager of the Year voting that November, appearing on 19 of 30 ballots.

The 2025 season followed a different arc. The Mets climbed to 45–24 before collapsing, going 38–55 over their final 93 games to finish 83–79 and miss the postseason entirely. Stearns retained Mendoza for 2026 in spite of that fade, and the May 1 statement made clear the organization still considered the problem one of performance, not personnel. That position changed sharply over the following seven weeks, capped by 32 runs allowed across the six-game losing streak that ended his tenure.

Mendoza issued a statement after the dismissal: "New York will always hold a special place in my heart. I leave with tremendous gratitude, pride in what we accomplished together, and confidence that the future of this organization is bright. I wish the Mets and their fans nothing but success in the years ahead."

Mendoza: Venezuela to the Yankees to Flushing

Carlos Enrique Mendoza is a Venezuelan-born former infielder who played in the minor leagues across the Giants and Yankees organizations , and in independent baseball , without reaching the majors. He moved into coaching within the Yankees' minor-league system and joined New York's MLB staff in 2018. He served as Aaron Boone's bench coach from the 2020 season through 2023 before the Mets brought him to Queens as their manager.

MLB's profile described the way the Yankees organization valued Mendoza's versatility , his bilingual communication, organizational breadth and comfort navigating a modern analytics-driven staff. Those same qualities surfaced in his first year in Flushing, when the Mets surged from a 24–35 start to reach the NLCS , the kind of turnaround that persuaded Stearns a second chance was warranted after 2025's fade.

His reported compensation was approximately $4.5 million over three years, or roughly $1.5 million per season, according to Yahoo Sports. The Mets did not officially disclose the figure, and it should be treated as a reported estimate.

Andy Green: Who Replaces Mendoza

Green was 48 at the time of the appointment. He joined the Mets' front office in November 2023 as senior vice president of player development, arriving shortly after Mendoza was hired as manager. His interim appointment on June 26 represents a shift from the executive suite to the dugout.

He carries prior MLB managerial experience. Green managed the San Diego Padres from 2016 through part of 2019, posting a 274–366 record , a .428 winning percentage. San Diego finished last or second-to-last in the NL West in each of his full seasons there. After San Diego, he served on the Chicago Cubs' major-league staff. He also played parts of four MLB seasons as an infielder and appeared in four games for the Mets themselves in 2009.

The Mets have not indicated whether Green will be a candidate for the full-time role after 2026.

A Rebuilt Roster That Has Not Performed

The 2025–26 offseason brought the most extensive roster turnover the Mets had undertaken in recent memory. Familiar faces departed: Pete Alonso signed with Baltimore, Edwin Díaz joined the Dodgers, and Brandon Nimmo was traded to Texas in a deal that brought Marcus Semien to New York. Jeff McNeil was traded to the Athletics, formerly Oakland, now based in Sacramento.

In their place, the Mets signed Bo Bichette for three years and $126 million, acquired Luis Robert Jr. from the White Sox, brought in Freddy Peralta and Tobias Myers from Milwaukee in exchange for Jett Williams and Brandon Sproat, and signed Jorge Polanco to a two-year, $40 million deal. Devin Williams and Luke Weaver were added as well.

Few of those additions delivered. Bichette entered June with a .583 OPS before a strong final month of the spring. Polanco played only 14 games before a mid-April Achilles injury ended his spring. Semien posted a .214 average and .613 OPS across 80 games before going on the injured list June 25 with a left hip flexor strain. Kodai Senga, carrying a 10.08 ERA across seven starts, was moved to the bullpen. Francisco Lindor, one of the roster's cornerstones, missed more than two months with a left calf strain and was only activated June 24, the same day the six-error loss played out.

The offense reflected those absences: the Mets ranked 29th in baseball in OPS (.675) and 26th in batting average (.231) entering the firing announcement, according to CBS Sports.

The Mets also traded David Peterson to the Cubs on June 25 for infielder prospect Cole Mathis, a move that preceded the managerial change by less than 24 hours. Stearns, in comments to reporters earlier that week, had said he still intended to give the team time to demonstrate it could return to playoff contention before making trade-deadline decisions. Three straight losses to the Cubs ended that line of reasoning.

What Comes Next

Green's appointment is explicitly interim. The Mets have not opened a formal public search for a permanent manager, and no timeline has been stated.

The club's standing , 34–47 with 81 games remaining , leaves no realistic path to the postseason without a run unlike anything this team has produced this year. Green inherits a lineup still missing contributors, a rotation that produced the third-highest ERA in baseball entering Friday, and a trade deadline on August 3 that Stearns will have to navigate with the full weight of a lost season behind him.

Stearns, who both hired Mendoza and announced his departure, has not addressed publicly whether the front office itself will face scrutiny after a season that has produced this result against baseball's highest payroll. That question will drive the Mets' winter more than anything the next 81 games produce.