The New York Mets on Tuesday formally introduced their new manager Carlos Mendoza. Mendoza, 43, had served as the bench coach for the crosstown Yankees for the last four seasons, and he replaces the ousted Buck Showalter in the Mets’ dugout. While Mendoza has never managed at the major-league level, he did skipper at multiple levels of the Yankees’ farm system more than a decade ago.
The Mets are a large-market franchise with a free-spending owner in Steve Cohen, and that means pressure and expectations. Those expectations were not met in 2023, as the Mets under Showalter sustained an 87-loss season despite running the highest team payroll in MLB history. In a vacuum, such expensive failures might lead to a rebuild or at least near-term pivot or reset. In his introductory presser, however, Mendoza put those notions to rest: “We expect to compete in 2024.”
Along those lines, Mendoza observed, “There’s some talented players coming back to a team that won 100 games.” He’s right about that. The Mets in 2022 indeed clocked 101 wins and lost the division title via tiebreaker to the Braves. While they were bounced in the Wild Card Series by the Padres, the regular season was very much a success. Still around from that 2022 team are core contributors like Pete Alonso, Francisco Lindor, Brandon Nimmo, and Jeff McNeil. As well, lockdown closer Edwin Díaz will be returning from the knee injury suffered during last spring’s World Baseball Classic that cost him the entire 2023 season. On top of all that, Cohen and new president of baseball operations David Stearns are expected to be active at the top of the 2023-24 free-agent market.
“I’ve experienced playoff games here in October on the other side of town, and I can’t wait to have that experience in Citi Field,” Mendoza said.
A new and proven lead decision-maker in Stearns, a deeply committed owner in Cohen, and a fresh presence in the dugout? In the new manager’s words, that amounts to, “a great opportunity not just for Carlos Mendoza but for the New York Mets.”
On more concrete matters, Mendoza during his Tuesday remarks confirmed that pitching coach Jeremy Hefner will return for 2024 in that same role. Mendoza also cited the need for someone in his role to blend analytics and traditional methods of scouting and player evaluation, which is a baseline requirement for big-league managers these days. In the end, Mendoza summed up his opportunity, his approach, and his objectives by saying, “It’s about connecting, it’s about building relationships, it’s about winning championships.”
All of those qualities and facets of Mendoza are in the service of that ultimate goal, and his tenure will be judged by that standard. His first public comments as Mets manager show he very much knows and accepts that responsibility.
