MLB managers on the hot seat

Spring has fully sprung in Major League Baseball, and every manager is getting their team ready for the upcoming season.

Last year, ten different managers were fired or let go by their respective teams. Those teams were the Rockies, Nationals, Twins, Angels, Pirates, Orioles, Rangers, Giants, Braves and Padres.

Who could be the teams to move on from their skipper in 2026?

Carlos Mendoza, Mets

Mendoza’s tenure in Queens has been interesting.

In 2024, the Mets reached the Postseason and were two games shy of a World Series appearance. In 2025, they missed the Postseason entirely.

Since Steve Cohen purchased the team in October of 2020, New York’s front office has gone to work every offseason to build the perfect roster for its manager.

If the Mets don’t at least reach the Postseason in 2026, they might be forced to go in a different direction again.

Aaron Boone, Yankees

Let’s go to the other side of New York and talk about Aaron Boone.

The Yankees have only missed the Postseason once (in 2023) since Boone arrived in the Bronx as manager in 2018.

Boone certainly doesn’t deserve to be fired, but when you manage a title or bust team you’ve only taken to the World Series one time, the question will always be there.

Since the end of the Astros dynasty, the American League has seemed up for grabs every year. Maybe Boone can finally get it done in 2026.

Joe Espada, Astros

Speaking of the Astros, the Espada tenure hasn’t exactly gone according to plan.

In 2024, he led Houston to its fourth consecutive AL West title and seventh in eight years, but the Astros didn’t reach the ALCS for the first time since 2016.

Last year, he achieved another feat he hadn’t intended to for the first time since 2016: miss the Postseason entirely.

With Seattle’s 2025 surge, a division title might be out of the question, but Espada will need to do everything he can to get the Astros back to the Postseason, or else it could spell the end for him.

Warren Schaeffer, Rockies

Schaeffer is an interesting candidate for this article, but allow me to explain.

In 2025, Colorado nearly set the record for the most losses in MLB history, barely finishing ahead of the Chicago White Sox from the year prior.

Even after an abysmal season, the Rockies chose to stick with Schaeffer rather than hire a new manager.

While the Rockies don’t really have any expectations in 2026, could they move on from Schaeffer if the team takes a step back?

Kevin Cash, Rays

This is my “well, it probably won’t happen, but I have to talk about it” manager of the article.

Since becoming the Rays manager in 2015, he’s been one of the best in Major League Baseball. Cash has won two AL Manager of the Year awards and took Tampa Bay to the World Series in 2020.

In those eleven seasons, he’s only had one truly awful season, going 68-94 in 2016. He’s gone 80-82 three times and went 77-85 last year.

The problem is that the Rays, notoriously known for winning without spending much, have finished under .500 and missed out on October two seasons in a row. With how this offseason went for Tampa Bay, they’re on track to miss the dance once again.

So, while it probably won’t happen, it still needs to be discussed as a possibility. We’ll see what actually happens with the Rays and Cash.

Other managers I considered for my list

Some other skippers I considered for this article are Oliver Marmol of the Cardinals, Mark Kotsay of the Athletics, Torey Lovullo of the Diamondbacks and Rob Thomson of the Phillies.

Adam Pietrzak is a fifth-year student majoring in broadcast journalism. To contact him, email app5940@psu.edu