2026 New York Mets

2026 New York Mets / Franchise: New York Mets / BR Team Page

Record: , Finished in NL Eastern Division (2026 NL)

Managed by Carlos Mendoza

Coaches: Jeff Albert, J.P. Arencibia, Danny Barnes, Kai Correa, Rafael Fernández, Gilbert Gomez, Tim Leiper, Daniel McKinney, José Rosado, Troy Snitker and Justin Willard

Ballpark: Citi Field

History, Comments, Contributions

The 2026 New York Mets made some major changes after barely missing out on the postseason in 2025. They lost two key free agents in 1B Pete Alonso and closer Edwin Díaz and also made a number of trades which resulted in 2B/OF Jeff McNeil and OF Brandon Nimmo, both long-time Mets, to leave. There were a lot of acquisitions however: the Nimmo trade brought in 2B Marcus Semien, another trade in which they sent a couple of prospects to the Milwaukee Brewers brought in two good pitchers in Freddy Peralta and Tobias Myers, and yet another trade, which cost them young infielder Luisangel Acuña, landed them CF Luis Robert Jr. from the Chicago White Sox. They signed not one but two former closers from their rivals from the Bronx, the New York Yankees, in Devin Williams and Luke Weaver. Finally, they signed two more free agent infielder in Bo Bichette and Jorge Polanco.

The result of all this churning meant that the Mets fielded a completely revamped team on Opening Day, which came on March 26th against the Pittsburgh Pirates. New faces included Bichette at third base, Polanco at first, Robert in center field, Semien at second base, Carson Benge, making his major league debut, in RF, and Peralta on the mound. They won 11-7 that day with the win going to Peralta, and started the year pretty well, going 7-4 in their first 11 games. But at that point, everything fell apart, for no apparent reason. They lost 12 consecutive games from April 8th to April 21st to give them the worst record in the majors at that early point. They had scored the fewest runs in the National League but their pitching was not bad, as their runs allowed per game put them almost exactly at the league average. In any case, Mets fans were not taking this unexpected collapse well and there were numerous calls for the firing of manager Carlos Mendoza. Meanwhile, reporters helpfully noted that no team had ever made the postseason after suffering a 12-game losing streak. That streak was the longest for the team since a similar skein in 2002, and they had not lost 13 straight games since way back in 1982. They finally won a game when they defeated the Minnesota Twins, 3-2, on April 22nd, but in that game SS Lindor injured his calf while scoring their second run in the 4th and had to leave the game, negating the return to the line-up of LF Juan Soto, who had been out of action since April 3rd and whose absence had been one of the major causes of the team's offensive woes. Lindor's injury was diagnosed as a strained calf and was expected to cost him significant time.

Ronny Mauricio took over at shortstop for Lindor, but his presence in the starting lineup lasted barely ten days as on May 2nd, he fractured his thumb in a game against the Los Angeles Angels, and he was also out for an extended period. The Mets had not played great during that brief span, as their record was 11-22, worst in the majors. Both the Boston Red Sox and Philadelphia Phillies had fired their managers during that span, and there were cries all over New York for Carlos Mendoza to be the next sacrificial victim. However, Mendoza got a vote of confidence from the front office, and while this is often the kiss of death, it seemed to secure his position, at least for a while.

On May 18th, the Mets set a franchise record when they scored 10 runs in the top of the 12th inning on their way to a 16-7 win over the Washington Nationals. They were the first team since the 1983 Texas Rangers to score double-digit runs in a single extra inning, and it was the fourth-highest total of runs ever scored in one such frame.

Further Reading

• Anthony DiComo: "In a flash, patient Mets rewarded by makeover", mlb.com, January 24, 2026. [1]
• Anthony DiComo: "Mets achieve rare extra-inning feat not seen in 43 years", mlb.com, May 19, 2026. [2]
• Mark Feinsand: "Why does overhauled Mets roster still feel like it's stuck in 2025 malaise?", mlb.com, April 16, 2026. [3]
• Sarah Langs: "Mets' new-look infield could pull off rare feat on Opening Day", mlb.com, January 18, 2026. [4]

2026 MLB season by team