Mets Must Avoid Repeating Carlos Mendoza Mistake With Ex-Yankees Shortstop

For all of their second-half struggles, at least Carlos Mendoza and the New York Mets woke up Monday morning owning a 1 1/2 game lead over the Cincinnati Reds in the NL Wild Card race.

With that said, we refuse to write off the Mets’ ugly summer, especially not when there’s a realistic chance they miss the playoffs entirely. The Mets are 7-14 in August and have fallen to seven games behind the Philadelphia Phillies in the NL East, an embarrassing sight considering they held a half-game lead on Aug. 2.

Considering Mets owner Steve Cohen’s aggressive history, we won’t be surprised to see Mendoza become a scapegoat come October. What was previously a thrilling and heated division race has turned into the 69-61 Mets almost certainly being assured of a second-place finish.

If the Mets do fire Mendoza, they’ll immediately stand out as one of the top teams with a managerial vacancy. Unlike the Colorado Rockies or Pittsburgh Pirates, the Mets have an extremely talented roster and an owner who isn’t afraid to spend in free agency. The Mets are an organization that acquires a player like Paul Skenes rather than consider trading him before he hits free agency.

However, the Mets must learn from their recent mistakes and avoid hiring a rookie manager. That might be bad news for Double-A manager and former journeyman shortstop Reid Brignac, who has led the Binghamton Rumble Ponies to their third straight winning season.

The Mets can’t afford to have Reid Brignac replace Carlos Mendoza

Our hesitation regarding the Mets potentially promoting Brignac, who is 274-251 in four years at Double-A, isn’t personal. The issue is that two of the Mets’ three hires, Mendoza and Luis Rojas, had never managed in the majors before. Rojas repeatedly looked overwhelmed in his two seasons, and Mendoza is overseeing one of the worst collapses in team history.