Despite a brutal late-season collapse that cost the New York Mets a playoff berth, team president David Stearns has confirmed that Carlos Mendoza will return as manager for a third season in 2026.
Mendoza’s retention underscores the club’s belief in his leadership, even after a year marked by unmet expectations. The Mets entered 2025 with championship ambitions and one of the loftiest payrolls in baseball, but an 83–79 finish—plus a head-to-head tiebreaker loss to Cincinnati—sawed off any postseason chance.
Over his first two seasons, Mendoza compiled a 172–152 record, steering the team to an NLCS appearance in 2024. This season, however, the Mets sputtered after mid-June, going 38–55 over the final stretch. Stearns indicated that while Mendoza’s spot is secure, the fate of his supporting coaching staff remains unsettled. The upcoming off-season will likely be defined by how the front office and coaching corps respond to a campaign that fell far below its promise.
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