Is Carlos Mendoza the Next Manager to be Fired?

MLB has already seen two managerial firings less than a month into the season. Is Mets skipper Carlos Mendoza next?

Apr 4, 2026; San Francisco, California, USA; New York Mets manager Carlos Mendoza watches his team take on the San Francisco Giants during the ninth inning at Oracle Park. Mandatory Credit: D. Ross Cameron-Imagn Images | D. Ross Cameron-Imagn Images

It's getting late very early for the New York Mets.

While the Mets have preached patience over their disastrous start to the year, the Phillies decided to take a different approach. Realizing that change was needed, Philadelphia fired manager Rob Thomson early on Tuesday and named bench coach Don Mattingly as interim manager. Thomson is already the second manager to be fired less than a month into the season, with the Boston Red Sox previously firing Alex Cora on Saturday.

The Phillies have fired manager Rob Thomson, sources told The Athletic. Don Mattingly will be interim manager.

— Matt Gelb (@MattGelb) April 28, 2026

With two managers with notable success in Cora and Thomson both fired so early on, the baseball world now turns its eyes to the Mets and their manager, Carlos Mendoza. Given New York's abysmal record and their embarrassing collapse to miss the playoffs in 2025, Mendoza's job seems to be in serious danger.

However, the Mets have yet to indicate that Mendoza is on the hot seat, while a number of different sources have come to the defense of New York's skipper. Players such as Francisco Lindor, Devin Williams and most recently Juan Soto have vouched for Mendoza, as well as president of baseball operations David Stearns.

"This is not Mendy's fault or David's fault. They put a great team together. We have to be the ones that will go out there and perform. This is not [Carlos Mendoza's] fault at all."

- Juan Soto pic.twitter.com/iEIxKvQWyI

— SNY (@SNYtv) April 26, 2026

While Mendoza seems to have earned the respect of his players, it is still worth mentioning that he doesn't have nearly the same success as Thomson or Cora. Thomson had guided the Phillies to four consecutive playoff appearances, the last two NL East titles, and the National League pennant in 2022. As for Cora, he led the Red Sox to a dominant 108-win season and a World Series championship in 2018, alongside two other playoff appearances in 2021 and 2025.

Entering Tuesday's series opener against the Washington Nationals, Mendoza has a 181-171 regular season record as the Mets manager since 2024. The 46-year-old guided the team to the NLCS in his first season at the helm, but a severely disappointing 2025 may have influenced the Mets to not pick up his 2027 option. This effectively makes Mendoza a lame-duck manager.

It wouldn't be fair to pin the Mets' struggles all on Mendoza, as many of Stearns' roster decisions over the past two years (signing Frankie Montas, trading Brandon Nimmo for Marcus Semien, letting Pete Alonso and Edwin Diaz leave in free agency, signing Jorge Polanco) have ranged from questionable to already backfiring spectacularly. But with so many of New York's stars not performing for extended periods, it may be a matter of time before the Mets decide they've seen enough from Mendoza.

Alex Cora is No Longer an Option for the Mets

Feb 27, 2026; North Port, Florida, USA; Boston Red Sox manager Alex Cora (13) looks on in the first inning against the Atlanta Braves during spring training at CoolToday Park. Mandatory Credit: Jonathan Dyer-Imagn Images | Jonathan Dyer-Imagn Images

As the Mets think about what to do with Mendoza, a possible replacement is no longer an option.

According to Bob Nightengale of USA Today, the Phillies offered their managerial job to Alex Cora almost immediately after firing Rob Thomson. But Cora turned down the job, as he desires to spend more time with his family after being fired by the Red Sox. Philadelphia would pivot to bench coach Don Mattingly as their interim manager.

Alex Cora was offered the Philadelphia Phillies' managerial job before Don Mattingly, but declined.
He has decided to spend time with his family.

— Bob Nightengale (@BNightengale) April 28, 2026

Given Cora's past reputation and track record, it's not a surprise that Philadelphia pursued him so quickly, and the Mets likely would have done the same had they decided to fire Mendoza. But after Nightengale's report, it seems that Cora will not return to a major league dugout until 2027 at the earliest.

If the Mets ultimately make a change at manager, some of their internal options include front office assistant Carlos Beltran, bench coach Kai Correa and vice president of baseball development Andy Green.

Of these three options, Green is the only one with previous managerial experience as he served as skipper of the San Diego Padres from 2016 to 2019, compiling a record of 274-366. Beltran, who will have his number retired by the Mets in September, was originally going to be their manager in 2020 but was fired before managing a single game due to his role in the Houston Astros' sign-stealing scandal.

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