Yankees’ Aaron Judge Sends Carlos Mendoza Message Before New York Mets Series

And with a crop of new players and most of the coaching staff replaced after last season’s debacle, plenty of attention has surrounded Mets manager Carlos Mendoza.

“He’s heard the rampant speculation about his job status,” ESPN’s Jorge Castillo wrote of Mendoza. “He knows what happened to Alex Cora and Rob Thomson — two widely respected managers who were fired … after their big-market, high-payroll Northeast clubs floundered to start the season — could happen to him. And he is cognizant that his team must start winning in order for him to avoid joining them.”

Publicly, at least, Mets president of baseball operations David Stearns has defended Mendoza and indicated that the team has no plans to fire him. But if the season doesn’t turn around, he may have to change that tune sooner or later.

FORBES | By Peter Chawaga
Mets Former All-Star, ‘Biggest Conservative’ Pete Alonso Wanted Out Of New York Over Politics

New York Yankees Superstar Aaron Judge Sends Carlos Mendoza Message Before New York Mets Series

In the meantime, though, it appears that Yankees franchise slugger Aaron Judge is still confident that Mendoza is the right man for the job in Queens.

“They’ve got a great manager with (Mendoza) over there,” Judge told Kirschner ahead of the Subway Series. “They’ve got a great lineup, a great pitching staff. It’s baseball.”

Judge has a personal relationship with Mendoza from the Mets’ skipper’s time with the Yankees, where he was a member of the coaching staff between 2009 and 2023. However, even though few would argue that Mendoza is not a good manager, the Mets might have little choice but to move on from him in the near future.

This article was originally published on Forbes.com