Feels fitting to talk about whether Mets manager Mickey Callaway‘s job is on the hot seat exactly one year after the Mets batted out of order against the Reds.
Following a disappointing 2018 season in which the Mets went only 77-85 in Callaway’s head coaching debut, the Mets have started 2019 by going 17-20. Not exactly the type of start that screams “come get us” to the rest of the National League East.
The good news for the Mets is that they’re only four and half games behind the first place Phillies. The Braves are currently in second place at 18-19 and the 14-22 Nationals have been in a tailspin with only three wins in their last 14 games.
While there’s certainly been players that have under-performed to start this season – Brandon Nimmo, Jeurys Familia, Wilson Ramos, Noah Syndergaard, and Robinson Cano to name a few – Callaway’s in-game decisions have been questionable at best, particularly in the bullpen.
The Mets were seen as making an outside-the-box hire (similar to when they hired GM Brodie Van Wagenen this offseason) when they hired Callaway with no major league or minor league managing experience in October of 2017.
Mike Puma of the New York Post recently reported that a source told him it was “way, way too early” for the Mets to consider dumping Callaway. The former Indians pitching coach has a contract that runs through the 2020 season and an option for the 2021 season.
The Mets hired veteran manager/bench coach Jim Riggleman prior to the 2019 season to give Callaway someone with more experience to lean on. Riggleman has already been the interim manager four times with four different teams in his major league career, the last coming in 2018 with the Reds.
During the offseason, the Mets also created a new position called the quality control coach and placed long-time minor league manager Luis Rojas in that role. His role is expected to help bridge the gap analytically between the front office and the players. Rojas, 37, has been a manager in the Mets system going back to 2011, is the son of former MLB manager Felipe Alou, and has been touted as future MLB manager.
The Mets started off the 2019 – much like 2018 when they went 11-1 – with a good stretch going 5-1 in their first six games behind a strong offensive output. Unfortunately, the Mets pitching as a whole went into a funk and the team would go 8-12 in their next 20 games.
Since April 28, the Mets pitching staff has a 2.85 ERA but the Mets have gone only 4-7 during that span. The Mets offense has gone into a big slump with a .206/.268/.316 slash line during that time and have scored only 29 runs.
GM Brodie Van Wagenen made it very clear this offseason with his “come get us” bravado that the Mets are a team that he built with the intention of winning now. That’s not happening, and if that trend continues, whose going to get the ax first?
Van Wagenen’s not going anywhere after only a few months and hitting coach Chili Davis is only a few months into his tenure (though that didn’t stop his previous employer), leaving Callaway as the likely first domino to fall.
