15 days after the season ended, Philadelphia Phillies president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski sat down with the media for his end-of-season press conference. Before taking questions, he announced the team had agreed to a one-year extension for left-handed reliever Tim Mayza and had hired former New York Mets manager Carlos Mendoza as third-base and infield coach.
This is Mayza's third time re-signing with the Phillies. He joined the club after the team selected him off waivers on August 31, 2025, and then inked a minor-league free-agent deal with the team last winter. During spring-training cuts last spring, the team released him from his contract so he could sign a Major League deal the following day.
Mayza had an excellent season in Phillies pinstripes after two years mired in mediocrity, bouncing from the Toronto Blue Jays to the New York Yankees, the Pittsburgh Pirates, and finally the Phillies. He pitched more innings out of the ‘pen than any other reliever, with a 3.48 ERA. His much-improved sinker drove his resurgence.
That offering accounted for 54% of his pitch usage in 2026 and ranked fifth among all Major League pitchers by run value, behind only Nolan McLean, Spencer Miles, Josh Hader, and Drew Rasmussen.
The Phillies will surely aim to add bigger, better weapons around Mayza this year. By the end of the season, he was one of the few relievers the Phillies could trust, and despite their faith in Mayza, he never established himself as anything near closer material.
More changes coming
After two and a half years as manager of the rival New York Mets, Mendoza will join the Phillies as third-base and infield coach, replacing Anthony Contreras, who was elevated last year from his job managing Triple-A Lehigh Valley.
Mendoza led the Mets to their miracle 2024 postseason run, beating the Phillies in the NLDS before falling to the Los Angeles Dodgers 4-2 in the NLCS. Since then, the Mets have underperformed, missing the playoffs in 2025 and finishing last in 2026, 20 games behind NL East champions the Atlanta Braves.
Mendoza only lasted 81 games into the season at a 34-47 pace. The Mets replaced him with Senior Vice President for Player Development Andy Green. Previously, Mendoza served in a myriad of coaching roles for the Yankees, first in the minor leagues, then in the Majors as infield coach, then bench coach from 2018- to 2023. He had never coached third base before joining the Phillies.
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