Mets to hire Carlos Mendoza as manager

The Mets are set to hire Carlos Mendoza as their next manager, according to Jon Heyman and Joel Sherman. Mendoza will take over as the 24th manager in franchise history, and the fourth since the start of the 2018 season—fifth, if you want to count Carlos Beltran’s brief tenure at the helm.

Mendoza comes over from the Yankees, where he served as Aaron Boone’s bench coach for the past four seasons. He has served as a coach in that organization since 2009, as he worked his way up through the ranks of their minor league system. He has been sought after over the past couple of years, and he was reportedly interviewed by both Cleveland and San Francisco this offseason. The first-time skipper will take over for Buck Showalter, whom the club parted ways with after a disappointing 75-87 season.

After hiring David Stearns as the first President of Baseball Operations in their history, the Mets tried to hire Craig Counsell away from the Brewers, and the speculation was that he was interested in the job. Counsell was seeking to become the highest-paid manager in the game—potentially with an annual salary of $7 million—and the expectation was if Milwaukee matched what another team offered, he would stay. As the news broke that the Mets were hiring Mendoza, it was reported Counsell would be leaving Milwaukee for another team with a manager, and it has since been revealed that Counsell has been hired by the Cubs.