Carlos Mendoza was fired by the New York Mets after the franchise slumped to a 34-47 record. Make that 34-48 after Friday’s loss to the Phillies.
Just a couple seasons back, Mendoza led the Mets to an NLCS appearance in his debut year in Queens. But when you’re managing the biggest payroll team in MLB, results matter. Mendoza couldn’t get the $358 million payroll team where it needed to be.
The franchise now sits 16 games back, riding a seven-game losing streak.
To put it bluntly, this firing looks less about Mendoza and more about the Mets’ front office and roster construction. The record was far from the only reason behind president David Stearns and owner Steve Cohen’s decision.
Stearns made it clear the decision wasn’t simply about standings.
“Despite all of our efforts, Mendy’s included, we haven’t been able to get this going this year and I take responsibility for that.”
That $358 million payroll – the highest in baseball – makes this Mets record embarrassing. But the losses weren’t the only issue.
Defense Has Been Sloppy
The Mets have looked terrible on defense this season. In one game, they committed six errors – their most in a single game since 2014.
Offseason addition Marcus Semien has struggled in the infield. On top of that, injuries to key players like Francisco Lindor forced the team to constantly shuffle positions for Mark Vientos and Bo Bichette.
Mendoza certainly didn’t have his best starting lineup available most games.
Injuries hit hard, including key players like Lindor, Juan Soto, Clay Holmes, Francisco Alvarez, Luis Robert Jr., and Jorge Polanco. At one point, Lindor and Soto had only appeared together in the starting lineup 10 times all season.
Those absences disrupted everything and put Mendoza in the position of basically redoing his lineup every game.
Resource Allocation Problems
Most businesses fail despite enormous funding for a simple reason: how they allocate resources. For the Mets, it’s about how they used their payroll to build the roster.
Stearns let two fan favorites walk in free agency: Pete Alonso and Edwin Diaz. Brandon Nimmo and Jeff McNeil were also traded. Meanwhile, the new acquisitions – Bichette, Robert Jr., Polanco and Semien – failed to deliver.
That’s why there’s a growing perception among fans that Mendoza became the scapegoat for problems that go way beyond their record this season. The issues seem to start higher up in the organization than the dugout.
