Mets Lose a Potential Managerial Candidate This Season

The New York Mets might have to make a change at manager if they continue to free fall in the standings.

Sep 7, 2025; Phoenix, Arizona, USA; Boston Red Sox manager Alex Cora against the Arizona Diamondbacks at Chase Field. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images | Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

If the New York Mets choose to move on from manager Carlos Mendoza this season, they will have to look elsewhere for a replacement.

Alex Cora, who was fired by the Boston Red Sox on Saturday, is choosing to spend the summer with his family as opposed to jumping back into a managerial opportunity.

As Bob Nightengale of USA Today Sports first reported, Cora declined an offer to manage the Philadelphia Phillies after they fired skipper Rob Thomson on Tuesday. The Phillies instead named bench coach Don Mattingly as their interim manager.

“I accepted to be a full-time dad,” Cora texted to Jon Heyman of The New York Post.

Cora, for a short period of time, was a hot managerial candidate for a number of struggling clubs including the Phillies and Mets.

Cora turned down the Phillies and president Dave Dombrowski, who he won the 2018 World Series with in Boston.

The Mets are currently 9-19 on the season, tied with the Phillies for the worst record in all of baseball. New York is ranked dead last in runs, on-base percentage, slugging and OPS.

With the second highest payroll in MLB at $380 million, the Mets carried lofty expectations heading into the 2026 season. They have not lived up to said expectations, which has turned up the heat on Mendoza's seat as manager.

In addition to being 10 games below .500, the Mets, who were a league-best 45-24 to start last year, finished the 2025 season with a 38-55 record and missed the postseason by one game. Since June 13 of last season, the Mets are an abysmal 47-74.

Mendoza is in his third season as the Mets' manager. In year-one, Mendoza's Mets began the year a dismal 22-33 in 2024. However, they went on to go 67-40 the rest of the way to snatch a Wild Card berth. They proceeded to go on a run to the NLCS, where they fell to the Los Angeles Dodgers in six games.

The Mets did not pickup Mendoza's option for 2027 in the offseason.

Although Cora won't be managing again in 2026, it's certainly possible that the Mets will be competing with the Phillies for his services next winter.

If the Mets decide to fire Mendoza in season, some candidates that could replace him are senior vice president of player development Andy Green, bench coach Kai Correa or special assistant Carlos Beltran.

Green is the name I have heard the most as a future managerial candidate for the Mets. Green managed the San Diego Padres from 2016-2019 and was the Chicago Cubs' bench coach from 2020-2023.

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