What is the connection between the Boston Red Sox, New York Mets, and Philadelphia Phillies? As May approaches, they have three of the priciest rosters in the league and are all at or close to the bottom of the Wild Card standings.
That has led to some action, as one might anticipate. The Phillies promptly fired manager Rob Thomson and installed MLB great and seasoned captain Don Mattingly in his place.
Alex Cora was later offered a position with the Phillies but declined it after the Red Sox severed their relationship. In contrast to Philadelphia, they elevated young talent Chad Tracy from Triple-A to the position of interim manager.
Then there are the Mets, who have the league’s poorest record in 2026 despite having the second-largest payroll, only surpassed by the Los Angeles Dodgers, who are playing as normal. Carlos Mendoza, their captain, is on a lame-duck contract, therefore one would expect them to follow suit and fire him.
Unfortunately, nobody is as formidable as the Mets.
The (not-so) Amazins’ capacity for self-sabotage cannot be overstated, yet the race to the NL East bottom is close.
The generational ineptitude of the Mets serves as a stark reminder to Phillies supporters that things may always go worse.
In 2024, Mendoza famously guided the Mets to the NLCS in his first season, but that run was erratic from the start. For comparison, at 3.0 WAR in 80 games, Jose Iglesias was their third most valuable hitter that season. Nobody in their right mind could have predicted that the squad would twice catch that kind of lightning in a bottle.
Nevertheless, since last year’s All-Star Break, New York has been incredibly awful. They were 45-24 in the beginning of the 2025 season before falling apart in the latter stretch (38-55). The Mets have been among the three poorest teams in the league by record since last June when combined with their 11-21 start this season.
This past offseason, the front staff replaced around half of the MLB roster with free agents and trade additions in an effort to make amends. However, they are currently in last position in the NL East since those recruits have failed to mesh well with the established core.
Mendoza is scheduled to become a free agent after 2026, thus one would expect that he would be an obvious scapegoat for these difficulties. The Mets have already fired four managers since Terry Collins left after the 2017 season, so it’s not like they’ve ever been reluctant to point the finger.
Unfortunately, the Mets’ commitment to madness is still ongoing. The Phillies are undoubtedly appreciative because, even if things don’t improve under Mattingly’s leadership, they can hide behind the ineptitude of their division rival.
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