Stephen A. Smith Sounds Off on Mets Amid Ongoing Collapse

The New York Mets’ 12-game losing streak has caught the attention of the entire sports world.

For a team with such high expectations and one of the largest payrolls in baseball, this level of underperformance has baffled everyone. And for good reason.

An offense expected to be among the best in baseball has averaged an ugly 1.83 runs per game during the losing streak. The Mets rank dead last in OBP (.285), slugging percentage (.332), and wRC+ (78).

Key offseason additions Bo Bichette, Marcus Semien, and Devin Williams have all disappointed.

Bichette is hitting .219 with a .255 on-base percentage, one home run, and a -0.4 bWAR. Meanwhile, Marcus Semien has not fared much better, hitting .225 with a .592 OPS.

And after failing to retire any of the five batters he faced last night, Williams’ season ERA now sits at 9.95.

All of these struggles in one of the biggest markets in sports have Stephen A. Smith sounding off and calling for Carlos Mendoza to be fired.

Stephen A. Smith Says Carlos Mendoza Is "As Good As Gone"

"[Carlos] Mendoza will be gone by the end of the month. You can book it." @stephenasmith, @MadDogUnleashed and @RealMikeWilbon talk through the Mets' 12-straight defeats ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/lMyw9OlIwE
— First Take (@FirstTake) April 22, 2026

In the most recent installment of First Take on ESPN, Stephen A. Smith joined analysts Chris Russo and Michael Wilbon to discuss the Mets’ disastrous April.

Smith made several key arguments about how the Mets’ failures leave them no choice but to fire manager Carlos Mendoza.

"Somebody needs to say it, so I'm going to say it." Smith said. "12-game losing streak, can't score on anybody. 11 of those 12 games, they've scored two runs or less. They have been awful, and you have the second-largest payroll in all of baseball. Now, in the age of data, analytics, etc., etc., I'm not one that's going to sit up there and throw all of the blame on the manager, Mendoza, but he must go."

Smith continued on to say, "Whatever kind of pulse this team has had, he clearly cannot find it."

Mendoza’s dismissal as manager has become a hot topic around the league, with many prominent analysts chiming in. Many agree with Smith that the Mets’ struggles can’t all fall on him. However, after losing 12 straight, something needs to change.

There are other voices who believe the Mets’ failures fall on president of baseball operations David Stearns, not Mendoza. One of them is Chris Russo.

"The fanbase in New York, they're not as down on Mendoza as they are down on the general manager (Stearns)," Russo said.

Smith quickly fired back at Russo, saying he doesn’t know what real New Yorkers think of Mendoza and Stearns. Smith then argued that Stearns isn’t mainly at fault, pointing to how poorly the Mets' offense has performed.

"I don't give a damn what moves Stearns has made. Two or fewer runs in nine of the last 12 games, a batting average of what is it, like .194, more strikeouts than hits," Smith said. "We've seen worse managers, we've seen worse executives than Stearns. We ain't seen that, more strikeouts than runs."

Smith closed out his argument, saying, "As bad as Stearns has been, the roster isn't this bad where you can't produce runs and you're producing more strikeouts than runs. Mendoza will be gone by the end of the month. You can book it."

Time will tell if Smith’s prediction comes to fruition. The Mets play at 7 p.m. ET tonight against the Minnesota Twins, with Juan Soto back in the lineup as they look to snap a nearly two-week skid.

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