A notable New York sports commentator offered up an intriguing idea this week. Is Carlos Mendoza’s replacement as New York Mets manager lying in wait on his staff?
Mendoza had a tough act to follow when he had to replace Buck Showalter as the manager of the NY Mets in 2024. However, in his debut season in Queens after being the bench coach for the New York Yankees, the 46-year-old led the club on a magical journey to the NLCS. It seemed like the team had found the man to be their skipper for the next decade.
Then the narrative on Mendoza completely changed in 2025. After adding Juan Soto to the roster that went to the 2024 NLCS, the NY Mets looked like one of the best teams in MLB over the first half. However, the manager could not pull the right levers and save them from a stunning late-season collapse that resulted in completely missing the playoffs.
While there were rumblings that the team’s awful finish could cost Mendoza his job, the team instead chose to retain him but completely change his coaching staff. One of the interesting hires they made in October was Kai Correa. A man who has been a bench coach and interim manager for the San Francisco Giants and was a key part of the Cleveland Guardians‘ staff in 2024.
Kai Correa set to replace Carlos Mendoza if the NY Mets stumble early this season?
Correa is seen by many as an MLB coach on the rise, and at just 37 years old, he is a bit of a wiz kid in the industry. That is why popular WFAN morning radio host Gregg Giannotti suggested this week that Correa was hired to specifically take over for Mendoza if the NY Mets get off to a rough start in 2026.
“I think if the Mets get off to a bad start, or, let’s say, they are under .500 around Memorial Day, that Carlos Mendoza will be fired and this guy Kai Correa is going to be the manager,” Giannotti claimed. “I said it the second they hired this guy because he has no connection to the current Mets or Carlos Mendoza.
“He is an analytics guy who has risen through the ranks. It’s almost as if David Stearns said, ‘Let’s get this guy on our staff now because in a couple of years he’s going to be a manager somewhere else.”
It is a sensible idea. And there is no doubt that Mendoza will be on a very short leash and must get results with a very expensive and talented NY Mets roster.
