New York Mets manager Carlos Mendoza will be back in 2026, but the team is parting with a bevy of coaches after a swoon that saw the Mets tumble from first place in the National League East to out of the postseason.
The Mets announced Thursday that pitching coach Jeremy Hefner, hitting coaches Jeremy Barnes and Eric Chavez, and third base coach Mike Sarbaugh will not return.
Bench coach John Gibbons, the former manager of the Toronto Blue Jays, resigned. Catching coach Glenn Sherlock is retiring.
Assistant pitching coach Desi Druschel and bullpen coach Jose Rosado have been given permission to talk about jobs with other teams, pending the hiring of a pitching coach.
Invited to return to the Mets next season were first base coach Antoan Richardson, strategy coach Danny Barnes and coaching assistant Rafael Fernandez.
The Mets were 21 games over .500 on June 12 (45-24) and had a season-high 5 1/2-game lead in the division that day. By the time the All-Star break arrived, New York stood 55-42 and trailed the Philadelphia Phillies by a 1/2-game deficit in the NL East.
A 28-37 record after the break left the Mets with an 83-79 mark, 13 games behind the Phillies and out of the National League wild-card race. The Mets could not recover from an eight-game losing streak from Sept. 6-13.
David Stearns, the Mets’ president of baseball operations, confirmed on Aug. 26 that Mendoza would return next season despite the team’s struggles.
“Oh yeah, Mendy’s doing a great job,” Stearns told “The Show” podcast. “I think he’s the right person for this job.”
Mendoza, 45, just completed his second season as manager — a barrier the past three managers didn’t cross.
Terry Collins (2011-17) was the most recent manager to last more than two seasons. He was followed by Mickey Callaway (2018-19), Luis Rojas (2020-21) and Buck Showalter (2022-23).
In his first season in 2024, Mendoza led the Mets to an 89-73 record. They lost to the Los Angeles Dodgers in the National League Championship Series in six games.
–Field Level Media
