Carlos

Mendoza

This seemed like a move that was a long time coming, given the Mets’ struggles. This poor season hasn’t even necessarily been Mendoza’s fault, but the Mets have the third-worst record in the NL at 34-47 despite having one of the largest payrolls in baseball. Injuries and player underperformance have played a large role, but Mendoza has drawn some criticism for his bullpen decisions as well. Mendoza was 206-199 (.509 winning percentage) in his two-plus years with the Mets, but things have been trending downwards after last year’s second-half collapse. Andy Green is taking over as interim manager for the remainder of the season, and it’s looking like the Mets are trending for a complete restart in the 2027 season.

“We know our record is not what we want, and we know we are capable of more,” Stearns told MLB.com. Anthony DiComo of MLB.com notes that “Stearns and owner Steve Cohen have had no serious conversations about firing Mendoza even as two other prominent managers, Alex Cora of the Red Sox and Rob Thomson of the Phillies, were dismissed last month.” We doubt this will cool the temperature much on Carlos Mendoza’s hot seat — only wins can do that — but it’s noteworthy that Mendoza has the backing of his owner and general manager despite a 10-21 start.

This seemed like a done deal weeks ago, but now it’s finally crossing the finish line. Willard spent the last year working as Boston’s director of pitching after previously being employed by the Twins. He’ll be replacing Jeremy Hefner in New York.

Reports had come out that Willard had emerged as the favorite to land the role and it looks like the Mets worked quickly to get a deal done. The 35-year-old had been serving as the Red Sox’ director of pitching since September of 2023. He’ll join a Mets’ coaching staff that has been almost entirely remade around manager Carlos Mendoza this off-season after a brutally disappointing finish to the 2025 season.

Willard, 35, is currently the Red Sox’ director of pitching, having served in that capacity since September of 2023. Prior to that, he worked in a minor league coaching role in the Twins’ organization. With so many teams still looking to finalize their coaching staffs, look for the Mets to try to strike quickly to lock up their man in the coming weeks.

Assuming this is just about money, paying their first base coach is an odd place for the Mets to draw the line. Richardson got much of the credit for Juan Soto’s breakout as a basestealer. Who knows whether Soto would want to keep running as much in 2026 anyway, but Richardson’s departure might cut a bit into his steal projection.

Ragazzo adds that Correa spent the last two seasons overseeing Cleveland’s baserunning and game strategy under manager Stephen Vogt. He was with the Giants as a bench coach for three seasons from 2020-2023. The 36-year-old adds a fresh voice to the dugout for Mets manager Carlos Mendoza as he enters his third season at the helm in New York.

Hitting coaches Jeremy Barnes and Eric Chavez were let go after the season, so Albert will be taking over the head role there, with a second hitting coach also likely coming in behind him. Albert, 44, joined the Mets in 2023 after working for the Astros and Cardinals. His only professional playing experience came during a couple of brief stints in indy ball; he went 3-for-18 in the Frontier League in 2003 and 0-for-4 in the American Association in 2006.

DiComo notes that pitching coach Jeremy Hefner and hitting coaches Jeremy Barnes and Eric Chavez are among those who will not be returning. It sounds like Mets’ skipper Carlos Mendoza will be working with almost an entirely new crew as they sort through the rubble of their epic collapse from the 2025 season.

Mets president of baseball operations David Stearns made it official during his end of season press conference that Mendoza will return after a disappointing 83-79 campaign where New York missed the postseason entirely. Mendoza has gone 172-152 (.531) in two seasons at the helm and figures to be on the hot seat next season considering Mets owner Steve Cohen’s desire to win and the club’s astronomical payroll.