Alex Cora is available: Is Mets’ firing of Carlos Mendoza imminent?

The Mets, a club with one of the highest payrolls in the league and with championship expectations, are in a free fall, losers in 15 of their last 17 games. A new-look offense that was designed to wear out opposing pitching and churn out rallies to put crooked numbers on the board has scored two runs or less in exactly half of their first 28 games to begin this season, all losses.

Clearly, something has to change, right?

The Mets designated Tommy Pham for assignment on Sunday and picked up another veteran outfielder in Austin Slater.

That’s a start, but not drastic enough.

With each loss, the chances of Mendoza getting fired — the most extreme move the Mets can realistically make — continue to grow.

The Red Sox already adopted this strategy. They dismissed longtime manager Alex Cora and five members of the team’s coaching staff on Saturday, a direct result of Boston’s disappointing start to the season.

Will Boston’s bloodbath fix every problem for the Red Sox, suddenly pointing them in the right direction? Time will tell. The Mets could follow suit with how they handle Mendoza and his staff if these losses continue to pile up. At a certain point, even if Mendoza isn’t to blame — nor is he the Mets’ biggest problem — the Mets can’t continue to preach patience and wait for a breakthrough. Their season isn’t completely lost yet, but even with five-plus months remaining on the calendar, it’s getting late early.

If the Mets dumped Mendoza and replaced him with an internal candidate at manager — like Carlos Beltran or Kai Correa — there’s a good chance that New York’s struggles would persist. It could also be the catalyst needed to bring the best out of this group. That’s for president of baseball operations David Stearns to decide.

Cora’s availability is another wrinkle to what’s poised to be the biggest story surrounding this team until they either emerge from this dreadful stretch and play better consistently or make a managerial move.

It’s rare that an experienced and well-respected manager suddenly hits the open market at this point in the season. It goes without saying, but a skipper of Cora’s caliber won’t be available for long, unless he seeks out another front office role or decides to step back from the spotlight for a while. One league source predicted that Cora will take a job as a general manager, wondering if Boston’s decision could embolden Mets owner Steve Cohen to follow suit with Mendoza soon.

So, let’s say the Mets were to move on from Mendoza and pursue Cora to take over. He’d bring an external perspective, a resume featuring a championship (in 2018 with the Red Sox) and a fresh voice for a room that’s been reeling for weeks, spiraling as the search for answers continues to lead to the same results. Cora has ties to Beltran. He was a Met during his playing career.

As one source within the Mets organization explained on Sunday, however, it’s important to remember that Stearns isn’t very reactionary. He operates in more of a stick-to-the-process mindset.

Stearns endorsed Mendoza just over one week ago in Chicago while the Mets were still enduring their lengthy losing streak. He singled out the way that Mendoza has been putting players in a position to succeed.

Mendoza has also demonstrated a willingness to shake up his lineup and pitching plans. He hasn’t been complacent with rolling out the same group each day, expecting different results. Mendoza can’t control the wave of injuries this team has been hit with nor who he has at his disposal on his lineup card. As closer Devin Williams put it last week, Mendoza doesn’t swing the bat and doesn’t throw the ball either.

It’s not like Stearns is going to fire himself, though. Maybe the Mets’ record puts the president of baseball operations in a position where he’s forced to make that type of change, even if he knows deep down that the roster he constructed is what’s been bringing this club down so far this season. Cohen could step in as well. He made it clear this spring that he’s not satisfied with the way this franchise has struggled to stick in postseason contention. The bare minimum, to Cohen, is to make the playoffs every year. Calendars haven’t flipped to May yet and that goal is already seemingly in jeopardy.

Mendoza was asked after Sunday’s doubleheader if he’s worried about his own job status.

“The only thing I’m worried about here is I gotta get the guys going,” Mendoza said. “I get it. It sucks. And I know the questions will continue to come up, but my job is to find a way to get those guys out of the funk. That’s the bottom line.”

If the Mets can’t shake their losing ways, he’ll have more to worry about sooner than later.

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