The New York Mets have hired former Yankees bench coach Carlos Mendoza as their new manager. Originally seen as finalists to land the highly-coveted Craig Counsell, they decided to go with Mendoza before Counsell was surprisingly hired by the Chicago Cubs. The 43-year-old Mendoza has spent the last four seasons as Aaron Boone's bench coach with the Yankees and spent 15 seasons as a coach within the organization. A native of Venezuela, Mendoza enjoyed a brief MLB career as a player that included 28 games split between the Mets in 1997 and the Rockies in 2000. The Mets are coming off a wildly disappointing 2023 season that began with heightened expectations following a wealth of offseason spending as the club went 75-87, finishing a whopping 29 games back of the first-place Braves in the NL East. They parted with manager Buck Showalter following the season.
Padres To Interview Carlos Mendoza For Managerial Position
The San Diego Padres will interview New York Yankees bench coach Carlos Mendoza this weekend for their managerial position after they let Bob Melvin walk following the disappointing 2023 campaign. The 43-year-old Mendoza will be the fourth candidate interviewed by the Friars. Internal candidates Mike Shildt and Ryan Flaherty are still considered the favorites, but sources said general manager A.J. Preller and other people were impressed with Los Angeles Angels bench coach Benji Gil earlier this week. Mendoza played 13 minor-league seasons and has been with the Yankees since 2017. He was named the bench coach before the 2020 season and has also interviewed with the Mets and Guardians for their managerial openings this offseason. The Padres could name their new skipper by next week.
