Mets Dismiss Mendoza After 79-Win Season
New York cuts ties with its manager following a 79-win finish, four years into David Stearns' tenure running baseball operations.
Updated on Nov. 2, 2026 in Baseball
The Mets dismissed manager Carlos Mendoza after the team finished the 2026 season with 79 wins, down from 83 in 2025. The move comes as the club enters David Stearns' fourth offseason in charge of baseball operations.
Why it matters
Mendoza's dismissal follows a season that fell short of the previous year's win total and marks a significant change in the Mets' dugout. Stearns, who had liked Mendoza, now faces a fourth offseason with the club's direction under sharper scrutiny.
The Mets' 79-win season trailed their 83-win output in 2025 by four games. Juan Soto's 15-year, $765 million contract, signed with the club, runs through the next decade of the roster.
The players
David Stearns
Stearns is the Mets' president of baseball operations who previously built the Brewers into a contender before joining New York.
Carlos Mendoza
Mendoza is the former Mets manager who led the club through the 2025 and 2026 seasons before his dismissal.
Steve Cohen
Cohen is the Mets owner and financier who has backed the club's large-market payroll strategy and verbally guaranteed Stearns' job through 2028.
The details
Mendoza was dismissed after a 79-win finish that followed an 83-win campaign. Stearns, who began with the Brewers in 2015 and left Milwaukee in 2022, liked Mendoza personally and did not want to make the change.
Timeline
2015: Stearns begins as the Brewers' top baseball operations executive.
2022: Stearns' Milwaukee tenure ends.
2025: The Mets win 83 games.
2026: The Mets win 79 games and Mendoza is dismissed.
Roadmap
Stearns' Milwaukee tenure, which ended in 2022, offers the closest precedent for his New York approach of building through trades and free agency. The Mets' 79-win finish tests whether that model can produce consistent contention in a large market.
The Mets' managerial change will shape the club's lineup decisions and bullpen usage heading into the next season. Fantasy players should monitor the dugout hire and any shift in playing-time expectations for key roster members.
The takeaway
Mendoza's dismissal underscores that even a respectable season can prompt a managerial change when expectations rise. Stearns' next moves will show whether the Mets can convert their roster investments into a stronger record.
Further reading
For more on the Mets' front office and roster moves, explore Baseball coverage on Wisevoter.
Source note: This article includes information reported by Fingerlakes1.
