Andy Green Showcasing What the Mets Need to Value in Next Manager

While Green may not be the next permanent skipper, his run shows that the Mets need to place more stock in managerial experience in this market.

The Mets have played much better since Andy Green took over as the interim manager. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

When the Mets fired Carlos Mendoza, it felt like a long-overdue decision after their 12-game losing streak in April essentially doomed the season. It wasn't Mendoza's fault that the Mets collapsed and then started 2026 poorly, but it is hard to deny that the injection of interim manager Andy Green has helped inspire much better play from the club.

Since Green took over on June 26, the Mets have gone 25-24 in 49 games, a decent sample size of respectable play. That run has coincided with more key injuries to Juan Soto and Jorge Polanco, as well as a deadline sell-off, which is impressive since the Mets' schedule has gotten tougher over the past few months.

While the Mets have made clear that Green is going to return to the front office after the season, his presence in the dugout has provided some immense benefits. Green has pushed the club's younger players to strive for more, notably challenging Christian Scott to get deeper into games, and his demeanor with the media indicates a steady confidence in the job that comes with managerial experience.

Mets must value experience in next manager following Andy Green experiment

While the idea of appointing Green as the permanent manager appears to be off the table for now, Green's run in the dugout should showcase the importance of an experienced manager for a contending team. The Mets have had some of their most notable success in the past two decades with experienced managers at the helm, notably Terry Collins' seven-season run that included the 2015 World Series appearance and a 101-win season with Buck Showalter in 2022.

Mets fans haven't had much regular-season success since surpassing the century mark with Buck Showalter four years ago. | USA TODAY Sports via Reuters Connect

It is true that some first-time managers have had good success with the Mets, including Willie Randolph's National League Championship Series appearance in 2006 and Mendoza's trip to the same spot in 2024. The problem is that first-time managers are often ill-equipped to handle the kind of adversity that can pop up in the New York market, which brings more media scrutiny and fan pressure than a lot of other cities in the league.

The Mets as a whole haven't placed much value on managerial experience since Collins departed, with four of their next five hires having no prior experience running a club at the big league level: Mickey Callaway, Carlos Beltrán (before he was let go due to his role in the Astros' sign-stealing scandal), Luis Rojas and Mendoza.

Showalter was the lone exception to this rule, and he was shoved out the door when President of Baseball Operations David Stearns took over. The Mets did flirt with the idea of luring Craig Counsell from Milwaukee with Stearns, but the organization pivoted to Mendoza when they got the sense Counsell was using them to get more money from another team, which turned out to be the Cubs.

Some early names in the mix for the Mets' managerial role include Beltran and Albert Pujols, who had phenomenal playing careers but no big league managerial experience. It is likely the Mets would give Alex Cora a phone call after the season, but he may be more likely to go to Philadelphia, which would likely move on from interim Don Mattingly unless he can take the Phillies deep into October.

The New York market is a very tough place for a manager to be learning on the job, especially for a team that hopes to contend like the Mets. Managing stars like Francisco Lindor and Juan Soto, whose personalities clashed before this season, is also a tall order for a manager still getting used to the day-to-day responsibilities of the job.

While Green may not be the best fit as the Mets' next manager, he has shown the value of choosing a candidate who doesn't need to learn to manage personalities in the clubhouse or properly use his bullpen.

Every manager needs to start somewhere, but the Mets should strongly consider putting more value on experience when they search for a permanent manager this winter.

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