The Mets are not alone. The sinking lifeboat is crowded with teams with large payrolls, huge expectations and — so far — paltry results.
The Mets have the majors’ second-largest payroll for luxury-tax purposes between the Dodgers and the Yankees. Then come, in order, the Phillies, the Blue Jays and Red Sox. The Astros are 11th. The Mets, Phillies, Blue Jays, Red Sox and Astros completed play Tuesday a combined 43-74 and vying for the bottom of their divisions. They are the early front-runners for the most disappointing team of 2026.
In each case, I think the bulk of the blame falls with the architects — the Mets’ David Stearns, the Phillies’ Dave Dombrowski, the Astros’ Dana Brown, the Blue Jays’ Ross Atkins and the Red Sox’s Craig Breslow — more than the managers. But architects have much longer shelf lives in MLB than those who have to deploy their blueprints. In part because in many of these cases they have had even more powerful co-conspirators, such as Astros owner Jim Crane, Red Sox owner John Henry and Blue Jays president Mark Shapiro, who are heavily influencing personnel or direction.
At this moment, though, the sharks are circling managers — notably the Mets’ Carlos Mendoza, the Phillies’ Rob Thomson and the Astros’ Joe Espada. The Blue Jays’ John Schneider signed an extension coming off a World Series appearance last year while the Red Sox’s Alex Cora has a World Series title on his résumé and is just in the second season of a three-year, $21.75 million extension.