The MLB’s New York Mets are hiring former New York Yankees bench coach Carlos Mendoza to fill their open managerial spot, the New York Post’s Jon Heyman reported on Twitter.
Mers hiring Mendoza to manage @Joelsherman1 and I report
— Jon Heyman (@JonHeyman) November 6, 2023
The hiring comes as somewhat of a surprise, as the Mets had been heavily pursuing soon-to-be-former Milwaukee Brewers manager Craig Counsell.
Mendoza will cross boroughs from the Bronx into Queens after 15 years with the Yankees organization, the last four of which he spent as the bench coach, ESPN’s Jeff Passan reported.
The hire is a sea change for a club that just fired veteran skipper Buck Showalter.
Showalter, who had 22 years of managerial experience will now be replaced by Mendoza, who has never managed a major league team. (RELATED: Clayton Kershaw Undergoes Major Surgery, Putting 2024 Season In Doubt)
The move comes as part of a larger overhaul of the Mets’ front office. Owner Steve Cohen made the decision to bring in a new president of baseball operations in David Stearns, who essentially cleaned house by letting Showalter and general manager Billy Eppler go. Many believed that Stearns, whom the Mets hired from Milwaukee, would take Counsell with him, but now reports suggest that Counsell will take over for Chicago Cubs’ manager David Ross.
Mendoza comes over to a team that began the 2023 season with the highest payroll in MLB history, but ultimately crashed and burned and ended up trading away the majority of their flashy offseason acquisitions in what was ultimately one of the most expensive fire sales in trade deadline history.
Expectations for the Mets under Cohen, who purchased the team in 2020 for a whopping $2.4 billion, are high. His willingness to spend is near-unprecedented in the sport, and his team has already been linked to high-profile free agents like Yoshinobu Yamamoto.