The New York Mets were mathematically eliminated from playoff contention on Monday. There are still two weeks left in the season.
That is the headline and the indictment. A roster built around Juan Soto and Francisco Lindor, carrying one of the largest payrolls in baseball, finished its competitive season before the middle of September.
New York sits at 69-81.
The season was over in April
The Mets started 9-19. Teams recover from that, but rarely, and this one never truly did.
They fired manager Carlos Mendoza in June after falling to 34-47 and last place in the NL East. Andy Green took over on an interim basis and is expected to return to his front office player development role after the season.
There was a brief flicker. New York went 11-4 in August, which was fun for about two weeks and mathematically irrelevant. At one point their postseason odds sat at 0.1 percent.
They sold at the deadline, moving several veterans.
Who manages this team in 2027
Carlos Beltran is reported as the club’s first choice for the permanent job. He was approached after Mendoza’s firing and declined at the time, citing Hall of Fame commitments this summer.
Albert Pujols has also been floated as a candidate.
Neither is confirmed. What is clear is that David Stearns needs to get this hire right, because the next manager inherits a situation that is complicated in both directions.
It is not a teardown
Here is the argument against panic in Queens. The young pitching is real.
Nolan McLean has established himself in the rotation. Christian Scott put together a strong first season back from elbow surgery. Carson Benge, A.J. Ewing and Zac Thornton are all part of the next wave. Ewing drove in the Mets’ only run in Monday’s 2-1 loss to Baltimore.
Soto and Lindor are not going anywhere. Stearns has a payroll that can absorb mistakes and a farm system producing arms.
What the Mets do not have is a reason to believe the 2026 group was one piece away, because the 2026 group was 9-19 in April and 34-47 in June with everyone healthy and a manager who had taken them to the NLCS.
This is the offseason’s biggest domino
A record-payroll club with two superstars, eliminated before Sept. 15, is going to be aggressive. Stearns has a managerial search, a rotation to finish building, and an ownership group that does not enjoy losing quietly.
Every free agent pitcher this winter should expect a phone call from Queens. Every team hoping to sign one should expect to get outbid.
The Mets have money and urgency. That combination has produced some of the most expensive mistakes in baseball history, and occasionally a parade.
A longtime sports reporter, Carlos Garcia has written about some of the biggest and most notable athletic events of the last 5 years. He has been credentialed to cover MLS, NBA and MLB games all over the United States. His work has been published on Fox Sports, Bleacher Report, AOL and the Washington Post.