What do the Philadelphia Phillies, New York Mets, and Boston Red Sox have in common? Well, they employ three of the most expensive rosters in the sport and are all sitting at or near the bottom of the Wild Card standings as the calendar turns to May.
As you might expect, that's prompted some action. The Phillies moved quickly to fire manager Rob Thomson, replacing him with MLB legend and veteran skipper Don Mattingly.
Meanwhile, the Red Sox cut ties with Alex Cora, who was subsequently offered the Phillies' job but turned it down. They went the opposite path of Philadelphia, promoting young gun Chad Tracy from Triple-A to serve as the interim manager.
Then there's the Mets, aimlessly wandering through the 2026 season with the league's worst record despite fielding the second-largest payroll, behind only the good-as-usual Los Angeles Dodgers. One would expect them to follow suit and fire their skipper, Carlos Mendoza, especially considering that he's managing on a lame-duck contract.
Alas, no one stands in the Mets' way quite like the Mets.
Mets manager Carlos Mendoza's job is not in imminent danger and gets vote of confidence, David Stearns tells @AnthonyDiComo
— Bob Nightengale (@BNightengale) May 1, 2026
“We know our record is not what we want, and we know we are capable of more. We don’t view this as a manager problem, and we don’t intend to make a change.”
The race to the NL East cellar is tight, but there is truly no overestimating the (not-so) Amazins' ability to self-sabotage.
Mets' generational incompetence is a salient reminder to Phillies fans that it can always be worse
Mendoza famously led the Mets to the NLCS in his first year on the job in 2024, though that run seemed fluky from the moment it ended. For reference, Jose Iglesias was their third-most valuable hitter that season at 3.0 WAR in 80 games. No one in their right mind thought the team could catch that kind of lightning in a bottle twice.
Still, New York has been stunningly bad since the All-Star Break last year. They started the 2025 season at 45-24 before collapsing down the stretch (38-55). Combined with their 11-21 start this season, the Mets have been one of the three worst teams in the league by record since last June.
The front office tried to right a lot of wrongs this past offseason, swapping out roughly half the MLB roster for free agents and trade acquisitions. But those newcomers have failed to jell with the incumbent core, hence why they're in last place in the NL East right now.
One would think that Mendoza -- who is due to a be a free agent after 2026 anyway -- would be a clear and obvious scapegoat for these struggles. It's not like the Mets have had any hesitancy about blaming their managers before; they've already torn through four of them since Terry Collins walked away after the 2017 campaign.
Alas, the Mets' pledge to insanity continues in earnest. The Phillies are surely grateful, as they can hide behind their division rival's incompetence even if things don't rebound with Mattingly at the helm.
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