Mets' Carlos Mendoza, 2 Others Labeled Early Hot Seat Candidates by Insider

11-game losing streaks typically don't work out...

Apr 17, 2026; Chicago, Illinois, USA; New York Mets manager Carlos Mendoza (64) speaks before a baseball game against the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field. Mandatory Credit: Kamil Krzaczynski-Imagn Images | Kamil Krzaczynski-Imagn Images

Not even a month into the Major League Baseball season, the thought of managers getting fired is already starting to percolate.

With a handful of big-market teams off to brutal starts, there are plenty of managers who could feasibly be on the hot seat at some point this season. However, insider Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic singled out three on Monday.

Those three were the New York Mets' Carlos Mendoza, the Philadelphia Phillies' Rob Thomson, and the Houston Astros' Joe Espada. So let's take things a step further and rank how likely each would be to get the sack if their team missed out on the playoffs.

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1. Rob Thomson, Phillies

Apr 7, 2026; San Francisco, California, USA; Philadelphia Phillies manager Rob Thomson (49) walks off the mound during the fifth inning of the game against the San Francisco Giants at Oracle Park. Mandatory Credit: Ed Szczepanski-Imagn Images | Ed Szczepanski-Imagn Images

Thomson is at something of a disadvantage by the standard we laid out, because his Phillies have made the postseason in each of the last four years. A playoff berth is likely the minimum requirement for the 62-year-old to keep his job, and even another early exit could have him in trouble.

Rosenthal noted that Thomson's predecessor, Joe Girardi, was fired after 51 games in 2022. The 8-13 Phillies might only have another month and a half or so to turn things around before the noise grows loud.

2. Carlos Mendoza, Mets

It was tough to rank the last two managers on this list against each other. They've both been at their posts for two-plus seasons, and both led their teams to the postseason in 2024 before missing out last year. Where Mendoza gets the edge here is the utter collapse of last year's second half leading into the sport's most embarrassing start this year.

Eleven-game losing streaks are cause for panic, no matter how you slice it. And the Mets fired most of the coaching staff at the end of last season, signaling to Mendoza that he had few excuses this season if things didn't turn around.

3. Joe Espada, Astros

Apr 17, 2026; Houston, Texas, USA; Houston Astros manager Joe Espada talks with a player in the dugout before the game against the St. Louis Cardinals at Daikin Park. Mandatory Credit: Troy Taormina-Imagn Images | Troy Taormina-Imagn Images

Houston lost ace Hunter Brown early this season and probably doesn't have the talent on paper that the other two teams do. But Espada still exists in the shadow of a semi-dynasty in Houston, so it's not as if an 8-15 start is suddenly acceptable.

However, the Astros also got off to a brutal start in 2024 and overcame it, and the American League West still appears up for grabs, so we should at least give the skipper a few months before we truly start the hot seat conversation.