Jorge CastilloSep 30, 2025, 07:22 AM

CloseESPN baseball reporter. Covered the Washington Wizards from 2014 to 2016 and the Washington Nationals from 2016 to 2018 for The Washington Post before covering the Los Angeles Dodgers and MLB for the Los Angeles Times from 2018 to 2024.

NEW YORK — After a stunning collapse to miss the playoffs, Carlos Mendoza will return as manager of the New York Mets for the 2026 season, president of baseball operations David Stearns said Monday.

Stearns said the team will evaluate the remainder of the coaching staff within the next week before making any further decisions.

“I believe Carlos has all the same traits and assets that I believed [he had] when we hired him two years ago,” Stearns said. “And I think over the course of his tenure here, he has demonstrated that.

“We had a tough year this year. There’s no question. We are all disappointed. We were all frustrated — Mendy, as much or more than anybody else. But I still believe he’s a very good manager and I think he’s going to demonstrate that.”

Editor’s Picks

2 Related

The Mets’ season ended Sunday with a 4-0 loss to the Miami Marlins when a win would have sent them to the playoffs for the second straight year. With the defeat, the Cincinnati Reds claimed the final National League wild-card spot despite losing to the Milwaukee Brewers.

The Mets and Reds finished tied in the standings at 83-79, but Cincinnati owned the head-to-head tiebreaker.

It was a stunning outcome for a club that entered the season carrying World Series aspirations with the second-highest payroll in the majors after signing Juan Soto to the richest contract in North American sports history. The team played accordingly, sporting the best record in the majors on June 12, but then the Mets went 38-55 for the rest of the season. Only four teams were worse.

“Tremendously disappointing season,” Stearns said. “Not nearly good enough. I think we all know that. We came into this year with, deservedly so, very high expectations and we didn’t come close to meeting them. And I’m keenly aware of that. I’m the architect of the team. I’m responsible for it.”