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One MLB insider doesn't believe that Carlos Mendoza deserved to get fired by the Mets

All season long, the New York Mets have been one of the most disappointing teams in the majors, which led manager Carlos Mendoza to a spot on the hot seat from pretty much the start of the year. After months of rumors, Mendoza finally got the boot on Friday morning after the Mets got brutally swept by the Chicago Cubs.

While things had been trending this way for Mendoza for quite some time now, it’s tough to totally fault him for New York’s struggles so far in the 2026 campaign. If you ask MLB insider Jon Heyman, he believes that Mendoza got the short end of the stick from the Mets, as he doesn’t believe there was much he could do to fix this team.

MLB Insider Sticks Up for Carlos Mendoza

Mendoza was hired to be the Mets’ manager in 2024 after spending six seasons working as a member of the New York Yankees‘ coaching staff. Right off the bat, it seemed like Mendoza was the perfect guy to lead this team, as they made a run all the way to the NLCS during his first year in charge, coming up just short against the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Since then, though, things have not gone Mendoza’s way. New York collapsed down the stretch last season and missed the playoffs entirely, which put pressure on the Venezuelan manager before the 2026 campaign even began. And as the Mets’ 34-47 record indicates, Mendoza was never able to get this new-look roster firing on all cylinders.

An ugly four-game sweep at the hands of the Cubs was the final straw, as the Mets’ brass finally decided to let go of Mendoza. And yet, while this move had been on the horizon for quite some time, Heyman doesn’t believe Mendoza was the main problem with this team, as he instead cited its injury woes and poor roster construction.

“I think Carlos Mendoza was put in an impossible position,” Heyman admitted on “MLB Central.” “The roster to begin with was not that good, and then he suffered a lot of injuries … A lot of injuries and a very imperfect roster were his undoing.”

Did the Mets Make a Mistake Firing Carlos Mendoza?

GettyManager Carlos Mendoza of the New York Mets has been fired

It’s tough to bank on an in-season managerial change leading to a dramatic improvement for a team, but we have seen the Philadelphia Phillies right the ship after firing Rob Thomson early in the season. And again, there’s only so much Mendoza could have done to get the Mets back on track. However, some moves eventually feel necessary, and this is one of those instances.

Andy Green will take over for Mendoza as the team’s interim manager, and unless he somehow leads New York to the playoffs, the team will likely conduct a much more thorough search for a new manager over the offseason. For now, though, the Mets will look to find a way to stop the bleeding when they kick off a new three-game series against the Phillies on Friday night.