Mets hiring Carlos Mendoza as manager
The Mets are reaching across town for their next manager, hiring Yankees bench coach Carlos Mendoza to replace Buck Showalter, reports SNY's Andy Martino.
In addition to Mendoza, the Mets interviewed Craig Counsell — whom some viewed as a favorite due to his connection to new Mets president of baseball operations David Stearns — and had interest in A's manager Mark Kotsay.
Once the Mets decided to hire Mendoza, the initial belief was that Counsell would return to the Brewers, but he is going to the Cubs instead on a deal worth $40 million over five years, per multiple reports. With Chicago, Counsell will replace David Ross, who was under contract and set to enter his fifth season as manager.
As far as Mendoza, he was in the mix for the Guardians' job before landing with the Mets, per Martino, but Cleveland hired Stephen Vogt on Monday.
Mendoza also interviewed with the Giants before that job went to Bob Melvin, and drew interest from the Padres for the job left vacant by Melvin.
The Yankees' bench coach for the last four seasons, the 43-year-old Mendoza worked as an infield coach and also managed in the Bombers' minor league system from 2009 to 2012 before becoming a roving defensive instructor.
When Stearns spoke during his introductory news conference, he detailed what he and the organization were looking for in a manager, highlighting the ability and willingness to form a partnership with the front office as one of the key attributes.
"Someone who is working side by side with me and the rest of our baseball ops group and the manager has so many responsibilities these days, it is a big job," Stearns explained. "But first and foremost is the ability to manage people, manage personalities, and create and facilitate an organizational culture where people enjoy coming to work and work hard. That’s at the top of my list."
