BOSTON, MA - SEPTEMBER 13: Payton Tolle #70 of the Boston Red Sox celebrates a strike out during the game between the Kansas City Royals and the Boston Red Sox at Fenway Park on Sunday, September 13, 2026 in Boston, Massachusetts. (Photo by Joe Sullivan/MLB Photos via Getty Images) | MLB Photos via Getty Images
Chad Tracy told us not to look very much into the order of the rotation this week, but it’s hard not to note that Payton Tolle is starting tonight exactly one week before the Wild Card series begins, and Sonny Gray and Ranger Suarez are set to go tomorrow and Thursday. That feels like a Game 1, Game 2, and Game 3 setup for New York, but again, we’ll still have to wait a few more days for official word.
Regardless of how the Sox choose to stack the deck, this will be Tolle’s final tune up before the showdown against the Yankees, so how he looks here will be even more important than the result of this game for the Red Sox.
On the contrary, this game means everything to Cleveland. Despite entering the night three games behind the Red Sox, they’re currently leading the AL Central by a game over the Chicago White Sox, and if the season ended today, they’d actually get a bye and wouldn’t even have to play in the Wild Card round.
To help them maintain control of that bye, they have their ace Parker Messick on the mound, who enters the evening with a 2.57 ERA and 186 strike outs on the season.
Switching gears to the Red Sox lineup, the biggest note is that Roman Anthony is again in left field and Jarren Duran starts the night on the bench. This is becoming the theme against left handed starts, which is obviously noteworthy for next week because Carlos Rodon and Max Fried are both left handed.
MILWAUKEE, WISCONSIN - AUGUST 03: Camilo Doval #75 of the Pittsburgh Pirates pitches against the Milwaukee Brewers at American Family Field on August 03, 2026 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. (Photo by Patrick McDermott/Getty Images) | Getty Images
In a surprising move in the last week of the season, the Pirates are cutting ties with one of their mid-season acquisitions.
The Pirates activated reliever Kirby Yates off the 15-day injured list on Tuesday and designated right-hander Camilo Doval for assignment.
Doval was acquired from the New York Yankees two days before the trade deadline. He pitched in some high-leverage situations during his two months in black and gold.
It wasn’t a failure of a tenure, but not a good one either. In 20 games, Doval posted a 3.79 ERA but a 1.74 WHIP over 19 innings of baseball.
He struck out 23, but walked 13 batters and dealt with consistent control issues that plagued him in New York.
Doval has one year of club control remaining, and comes as a slight surprise that the Pirates moved on from him. Pittsburgh traded Double-A catcher/first baseman Omar Alfonzo to the Yankees for Doval, who ranks 28th in New York’s farm system, per MLB Pipeline.
It’s a sign the Pirates were willing to non-tender Doval later in the offseason, but moved past him faster than many expected.
He led the National League in saves (39) with the Giants in 2023, but has never regained the dominant form he found years ago in San Francisco.
The Pirates host the St. Louis Cardinals for the final home series of the year beginning Tuesday at 6:40 p.m.
ST LOUIS, MISSOURI - AUGUST 28: Jared Jones #17 of the Pittsburgh Pirates delivers a pitch against the St. Louis Cardinals in the first inning at Busch Stadium on August 28, 2026 in St Louis, Missouri. (Photo by Dilip Vishwanat/Getty Images) | Getty Images
St. Louis Cardinals vs. Pittsburgh Pirates, September 22, 2026, 6:40 p.m. ET
The Pittsburgh Pirates are starting a three-game set inside PNC Park against the St. Louis Cardinals.
On the mound for the Cardinals is Andre Pallante (12-7, 3.70 ERA), who is coming off one of the worst starts of the season in his last appearance against the San Francisco Giants on September 15. Pallante only went 5 innings, giving up eight hits and six earned runs in a 10-3 defeat at Busch Stadium. The 6 earned runs marked the highest total of Pallante’s season, which has included 27 starts.
This is Pallante’s second appearance against the Pirates this season. He pitched against them on April 29 at PNC Park, going six innings and giving up five hits and one run in a 5-4 victory for the Redbirds.
Jared Jones (4-6, 4.17 ERA) is getting the ball for the Pirates in what could be the final start of the season for him. In Jones’s last start on September 16 against the Milwaukee Brewers, he went five innings, giving up seven hits and three earned runs in a 5-4 loss at PNC Park. However, the loss was credited to Carmen Mlodzinski, who surrendered two runs in the seventh inning.
Location: PNC Park, Pittsburgh, PA
Broadcast: KDKA AM/FM, Sportsnet Pittsburgh
Pitching Matchup: Andre Pallante (12-7, 3.70 ERA) vs. Jared Jones (4-6, 4.17 ERA)
BD community, this is your game thread against the San Francisco Giants. Chime off in the comments section below.
A start that couldn’t have begun any better ended in a most frustrating way for Zack Wheeler on Tuesday night.
The veteran right-hander set a club record by opening the game with seven consecutive strikeouts – including the 2,000th of his career — only to walk off the mound a victim of the oldest adage in baseball.
It’s a game of inches.
Ultimately, Wheeler was a happy man. His Phillies rallied for three runs in the bottom of the eighth inning to beat the Milwaukee Brewers, 6-4, and lower their magic number for clinching a postseason berth to two.
In what was likely his final start of the regular season, Wheeler struck out 11 batters in 5 2/3 innings but couldn’t hold a 3-0 lead as the Brewers reached him for a single run in the fourth and two in the sixth.
Garrett Mitchell scored the Brewers’ run in the fourth inning on a sacrifice fly. He initially reached base on a soft pop up that clanged off back-pedaling third baseman Bryson Stott’s glove and was ruled a hit.
Both of the runs in the sixth came with two outs after catcher J.T. Realmuto narrowly missed gunning down David Hamilton as he reached third base on the front end of a double steal.
After the double steal, William Contreras smacked a soft liner to center field to score two runs and tie the game. Contreras’ hit, on a first-pitch sinker that was in and off the plate, came off the bat at just 83 mph and sailed inches beyond the lunge of shortstop Trea Turner. The next batter, Jake Bauers, stroked an 80-mph ground-ball single just out of Turner’s range, ending Wheeler’s night at 101 pitches.
Wheeler could conceivably start the season finale Sunday against Tampa Bay. But if the Phillies wrap up a postseason berth before then, he would be held out of the start and saved for the postseason opener next Tuesday. If that ends up being the case, Wheeler will finish the regular season with a 3.06 ERA in 27 starts, not bad for a guy who missed the final six weeks of the 2025 season with a blood clot in his right shoulder and surgical procedure to remove a rib.
The Phillies’ bats came alive with three two-out runs in the eighth inning. Bryson Stott broke the tie with a single up the middle and a second run scored on an errant throw. Brandon Marsh then doubled home the third run, capping a three-RBI night. He belted a two-run homer in the second inning. It was his first homer since August 13, a span of 80 at-bats.
Jhoan Duran allowed a run in the ninth before closing it out.
Wheeler’s seven straight strikeouts to open the game broke the team record of six, set by Brandon Duckworth on August 5, 2001 against the Dodgers.
STACKING WINS: The Cubs have won three consecutive series for the first time since July 7-19 and four of five for the first time since Aug. 3-19. They are 26-23-3 in all series this year, including 12-11-2 at home. (Courtesy BCB’s JohnW53)
BEATING THE GOOD TEAMS: The Cubs are 41-34 against teams that had a winning record going into games. At home, they are 25-14. (Courtesy BCB’s JohnW53)
FOUR IS THE NUMBER OF THE COUNTING: The Cubs have scored at least four runs in their last four games and in eight of their last 10. They have scored a total of 61 runs, an average of 6.10. For the season, their average is 5.35. (Courtesy BCB’s JohnW53)
PCA WATCH: Pete Crow-Armstrong needs five home runs to reach 50, a milestone reached only by two Cubs: Sammy Sosa, four times (66, 64, 63 and 50), and Hack Wilson, once (56). PCA homered five times in six games June 15-23, three times in overlapping spans Aug. 15-23 and four times in overlapping spans Aug. 24-30. He hit six in five games Aug. 29-Sept. 3. (Courtesy BCB’s JohnW53)
RUN WATCH: With their nine runs scored Sunday, the Cubs are at 835 runs scored for the season with six games remaining. Cubs teams have scored more runs than that just twice in a season since 1930: 847 in 1935 and 855 in 2008, so this year’s Cubs need just 21 runs over the six remaining games to become the second-highest scoring Cubs club in the Modern Era.
First nine starts: 2.32 ERA, 0.902 WHIP, only 5 HR in 54.1 innings Next seven starts: 7.41 ERA, 1.274 WHIP, 15 (!) HR in 37.2 innings Next seven starts: 1.77 ERA, 1.180 WHIP, only 5 HR in 40.2 innings Next four starts: 7.13 ERA, 1.528 WHIP, 8 (!) HR in 17.2 (!) innings Next three starts: 2.00 ERA, 0.778 WHIP, only 1 HR in 18 innings
Three of those guys are Cy Young candidates. The other two are DFA candidates. Which one will we get tonight?
The good news, perhaps, is that one of the most recent three starts was Sept. 4 against the Marlins in Miami, where he held them to three hits and one run, with no home runs. Just do that again, Shōta.
Janson Junk was Imanaga’s opponent in that Sept. 4 game and he held the Cubs to three hits and one run in five innings. The Cubs won the game off the Marlins bullpen.
Since then Junk has not gone past the third inning in two starts, one vs. the Mets (who scored eight runs off him) and one vs. the Diamondbacks, who he held to just one run. It appears he’s on a pitch limit of about 75 or so, as he hasn’t thrown more than that in about a month. So the patient Cubs should try to wait him out with walks and get him out early.
Please visit the Marlins site Fish On First. If you do go there to interact with Marlins fans, please be respectful, abide by their individual site rules and serve as a good representation of Cub fans in general and BCB in particular.
The 2026 game discussion procedure has been changed, so please take note.
You’ll find the game preview, like this one, posted separately on the front page two hours before game time (90 minutes for some early day games following night games).
At the same time, a StoryStream containing the preview will also post on the front page, titled “Cubs vs. (Team) (Day of week/date) game threads.” It will contain every post related to that particular game.
The Live! (formerly “First Pitch”) thread will still post at five minutes to game time. It will also post to the front page. That will be the only live game discussion thread. After the game, the recap and Heroes and Goats will also live on the front page as separate posts.
You will also be able to find the preview, Live! thread, recap and Heroes and Goats in this section link. The StoryStream for each game can also be found in that section.
ARLINGTON, TX - SEPTEMBER 19: Members of the Texas Rangers hold Stand Up To Cancer signs during the game between the Toronto Blue Jays and the Texas Rangers at Globe Life Field on Saturday, September 19, 2026 in Arlington, Texas. (Photo by Courtney Kramer/MLB Photos via Getty Images) | MLB Photos via Getty Images
Texas Rangers lineup for September 22, 2026 against the New York Mets: starting pitchers are MacKenzie Gore for the Rangers and Sean Manaea for the Mets.
We begin the stretch of the final six games of the season. The games that will determine whether the Rangers win the American League West, or are staying home for the playoffs, or maybe, a sliver of a chance, they are the Wild Card team.
Are you a little nervous? I am.
The lineup:
Langford — LF
Seager — SS
Jung — 3B
Burger — 1B
Nimmo — RF
Duran — CF
Foscue — 2B
Diaz — DH
Jansen — C
7:05 p.m. Central time. Rangers are -127 favorites.
Barely two days after a foul ball caught him flush in the left eye and jeopardized his chances of playing in the postseason, Alex Bregman donned a helmet, grabbed a bat and tracked pitches off a machine.
Most notably, he was not placed on the injured list and Cubs manager Craig Counsell told reporters in Chicago that despite Bregman suffering facial fractures, the club hopes he will play in the final regular season series this weekend in Boston, and perhaps the club's opening-round playoff series in one week.
"I think Alex is going to be fine," Counsell told reporters Tuesday, Sept. 22. "He's planning on playing."
Bregman was last publicly seen Sunday, sprinting from the on-deck circle at Cincinnati's Great American Ball Park to the visiting clubhouse after a Michael Busch foul ball took one hop and drilled Bregman standing just a few yards away. An Instagram post showed how grim the damage was even as Bregman vowed a return.
The third baseman returned to Wrigley Field Tuesday, swelling in his face appearing to be down as he entered the stadium alongside baseball operations president Jed Hoyer. Eventually, he engaged in a light workout and headed to the club's Trajekt pitching machine − which mimics the deliveries of opposing pitchers − and tracked pitches, Counsell said.
Pic I took of Alex Bregman arriving at Wrigley Field this afternoon. He gave me a thumbs up.
I thought his eye and face looked better than in the Pic he posted yesterday.
It's a remarkable turnaround after a bloody and unsettling sequence just days earlier.
"That's a very positive sign," Counsell said, per the Chicago Tribune. "All things considered, he's in a good place."
The bigger questions − Can he swing? Will he be affected by a 100-mph fastball standing in the box? Is his face stable enough to play? − are still to come.
Yet for now, Bregman remains in play for the National League wild-card series that begins Tuesday, Sept. 29. The Cubs entered Sept. 22 needing just a win to clinch a spot, and they likely will host the Philadelphia Phillies in that best-of-three.
"He really is at a point where he can progress as tolerated," says Counsell.
Bregman, 32, hit 26 home runs and posted an .804 OPS in his first season with the Cubs after signing a five-year, $175 million contract in January.
BALTIMORE, MARYLAND - SEPTEMBER 20: Trevor Megill #29 of the Milwaukee Brewers celebrates with William Contreras #24 after a 3-0 victory against the Baltimore Orioles at Oriole Park at Camden Yards on September 20, 2026 in Baltimore, Maryland. (Photo by Greg Fiume/Getty Images) | Getty Images
And just like that, the final week of the 2026 Major League Baseball regular season is upon us. Six games to go. Tonight could be a National League Division Series matchup preview as the Brewers finish their nine-game road trip against the Phillies.
Yes, the Brewers have the best record in baseball and the best in many other areas, but plenty still needs to be worked out. Perhaps the biggest glaring hole is the starting rotation, and what’s that going to look like now that Kyle Harrison has been having a rough stretch. Dustin May will dig into the mound for perhaps the final time this regular season, needing a solid outing to verify his spot either in the rotation or the bullpen.
As a starter, May has shown signs of greatness but also signs of “don’t come near my mound in the postseason.” During his time as a Brewer, May enters tonight with a 5.40 ERA in eight starts, not even making it out of the fourth inning in two of his last three starts. Tonight, though, he has one thing going for him: only two players have faced May in this Phillies lineup, and even the two players that have have only one hit combined.
The Phillies enter tonight neither technically eliminated nor having clinched a playoff berth; they currently own the third NL Wild Card spot by four games over the Arizona Diamondbacks. It’s been a bit of a rough month for the Phillies as they have gone 4-6 over their last 10 games, coming off a series split with the New York Mets. Sometimes, though, you need your rock there to settle things down and be consistent, and that’s what Zack Wheeler is expected to do tonight.
Wheeler has been around the league long enough that everyone in the Brewers’ lineup has seen him at least three times, with the exception of newcomers Cooper Pratt and Luis Lara. Wheeler has thrown seven innings in each of his last two starts, but more specifically, he threw seven innings of scoreless baseball against the Washington Nationals, striking out five and allowing only four hits.
As we approach game time, lineups have been set, and this Phillies offense has been one of the more consistent offenses in baseball. Only two players have a batting average north of .270, while fewer players have double-digit home runs than the Brewers. For the Crew, David Hamilton will make the start at third base, batting ninth, with Garrett Mitchell leading off the game.
First pitch at Citizens Bank Park is at 5:40 p.m., and you can watch the game on Brewers.TV and listen to it on WTMJ 620.
Five weeks ago, David Stearns said he expected Andy Green to return to the front office after the season. Instead, the New York Mets interim manager is staying in the dugout with the "interim" title removed.
The Mets signed Green to a three-year deal as their full-time manager, the team announced on Tuesday, Sept. 22.
"Andy has connected with and pushed our players to perform, despite the disappointment of the season,” owners Steve and Alex Cohen said in a statement. “Over the last several months he has brought discipline, accountability and positivity to the clubhouse, attributes we were seeking in our next manager. We want to congratulate Andy, his wife, Jessica, and their three daughters. We are excited for his continued leadership in the dugout."
Green, 49, took over on June 26, the day the Mets fired Carlos Mendoza with the team at 34-47 and 13 games under .500. They've gone 37-38 since. That won't get the $370 million roster, second in baseball, anywhere near the postseason. The Mets are 71-85 going into Tuesday night's game at Texas and in last place in the National League East.
Nobody inside the organization had been pointing this way. On Aug. 17, Stearns, the team's president of baseball operations, said: "It's my expectation that he returns to the front office."
He went a step further.
"Andy's expectation is he's going to rejoin the front office," Stearns said, "and I have no reason to believe otherwise right now."
ESPN's Buster Olney reported last week that the plan still had not changed. There was even talk of Green becoming general manager, a job the Mets have left open since Billy Eppler resigned in October 2023.
Green has done this before. Green managed the San Diego Padres from 2016 to 2019 and went 274-366 with a rebuilding roster before he was fired in September 2019. He then spent four seasons as David Ross' bench coach with the Chicago Cubs. The Mets hired him before the 2024 season to run player development.
Some of the players he helped develop in that job are the ones he's been writing into the lineup. On Saturday, rookie outfielder Carson Benge got his 156th hit, a check-swing bunt single up the third-base line. That broke the franchise rookie record set by Pete Alonso set in 2019.
Mendoza went 206-199 in two-plus seasons. He took the Mets to the NL Championship Series in 2024, then watched a strong start fall apart in 2025, when they missed the playoffs.
ST PETERSBURG, FLORIDA - SEPTEMBER 2: Andy Green #70 of the New York Mets looks on after a pitching change against the Tampa Bay Rays at Tropicana Field on September 2, 2026 in St Petersburg, Florida. (Photo by Parker S. Freedman/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Since being hired as the team’s interim manager, Andy Green has continuously stated that he was not interested in having the full-time gig, citing his family as the primary reason. Thus, the expectation has been that the Mets would conduct a complete search for a new manager in the offseason. Well, that impending search has ended before it even began, as the team has given Green a three-year deal to serve as the full-time manager.
Green, the former Padres manager who had been serving as Senior Vice President of Player Development in the front office, has been in the dugout since the team fired Carlos Mendoza at the end of June following a disastrous start to the season. While the team has not exactly been world-beaters in the time since then, they have generally played better with Green in charge (to the tune of a 37-38 record), and he has earned plaudits for his handling of the media and his willingness to challenge his players. In the press release announcing the deal, Green addressed his previous reticence to accept the full-time job:
I am excited and humbled to officially be named manager of the New York Mets. When I accepted the interim role, I didn’t anticipate it becoming permanent, but the more time I spent with our players and staff, the clearer it became that this is where my passion and experience could make the greatest impact. That realization led to many conversations with my family, and together we agreed this is the right opportunity at the right time. I want to thank Steve and Alex for the love, ambition and commitment with which they lead this organization, and David for the trust he has placed in me. I believe deeply in what we can build together, and I’m honored to continue serving our players, this organization and the amazing Mets fans.
It is worth noting, of course, that Green’s job next season will be fundamentally different than the one he has been doing these past few months. We will see how he handles the pressure of managing a team that is expected to win versus one that had virtually already played itself out of the playoff race and was just navigating its way through the end of the season. Nevertheless, the 2027 team will now have some familiarity in the dugout (this presumably includes a number of the new coaches the team hired this past offseason, who will likely stick around with Green) as they look to rebound from a disappointing campaign.
NEW YORK, NEW YORK - SEPTEMBER 19: Christian Scott #45 of the New York Mets leaves the game during their game against the New York Mets at Citi Field on September 19, 2026 in New York City. (Photo by Al Bello/Getty Images) | Getty Images
The Mets placed one right-handed pitcher on the injured list and activated another before Tuesday night’s series-opening game in Arlington against the Texas Rangers. Christian Scott landed on the 15-day IL with left knee inflammation, ending his year, while Devin Williams returns after being sidelined with a right shoulder strain since August 8.
Scott returned from Tommy John surgery on April 23 and proceeded to put together a fine sophomore season for the Mets. In 23 starts, he posted a 3.85 ERA with 134 strikeouts and 47 walks in 110 innings pitched. As he soared past his previous career-high in innings during a professional season, the 27-year-old began to falter, as he put up a 5.30 ERA over his final seven starts. His last outing came on Saturday afternoon, when he allowed three runs in 4.2 innings in the Mets’ 10-3 win over the Phillies at Citi Field.
Williams’ first season in Queens has been a mixed bag. The Airbender-brandishing reliever struggled in mid-April, allowing eight runs while recording just six outs in a span of four appearances, but was dominant from that point through late June. He struck out 51 batters in 38.2 innings pitched with the help of a 39.0% chase rate and 34.9% whiff rate, and has successfully converted 16 of 19 save opportunities – all positive signs – yet his 4.66 ERA and 1.66 WHIP aren’t exactly what the Mets had in mind when they signed the veteran to a three-year deal last offseason.
In Williams’ absence, Kodai Senga has emerged as an interim closer of sorts, converting seven consecutive saves to begin his closing career before Pete Alonso took him deep last Tuesday night. In his most recent appearance on Sunday, Senga surrendered three runs while recording just one out against the Phillies. Senga has six games remaining (three in Texas and three in Washington) to bounce back and finish strong out of the bullpen, while Williams will get a final taste of big-league action before the offseason.
CLEVELAND, OHIO - SEPTEMBER 19: Catcher Austin Hedges #27 celebrates with relief pitcher Slade Cecconi #44 of the Cleveland Guardians after the game against the Athletics at Progressive Field on September 19, 2026 in Cleveland, Ohio. The Guardians defeated the Athletics 12-6. (Photo by Jason Miller/Getty Images) | Getty Images
The playoffs are within reach and the Guardians are in the driver’s seat for the AL Central as they head into a tough place to play against a good team in the Boston Red Sox.
The Guardians are 81-75 with a +2 run differential, 21st in team wRC+ since the trade deadline at 96, eighth in baserunning runs above at 5.2, ninth in Defense at -8.2, eighth in starting pitcher ERA at 3.94 (3.93 FIP), and sixth in bullpen ERA at 3.55 (3.66 FIP).
The Red Sox are 84-72 with a +80 run differential, 16th in team wRC+ since the trade deadline at 100, 18th in baserunning runs above at -3.5, eighth in Defense at -5.4, ninth in starting pitcher ERA at 3.95 (3.74 FIP), and first in bullpen ERA at 3.09 (3.56 FIP).
One of our regular posters asked which of our hitters and pitchers have performed well at Fenway. I don’t generally consider park-specific stats as very predictive, but, for what it’s worth, Austin Hedges has a 159 wRC+ at Fenway, Jo Adell 133 wRC+, Nathaniel Lowe 128 wRC+, Steven Kwan 127 wRC+, Brayan Rocchio 120 wRC+, and Jose Ramirez 108 wRC+. If any of that makes you excited, good! Joey Cantillo has a 1.50 ERA in Fenway and Tanner Bibee 1.80 ERA. I REALLY would not read anything into pitcher stats at specific parks, but it is possible hitters may see the ball better at given stadiums.
Matchups: Tuesday, 6:45PM ET: Messick, LHP 2.59 ERA since 8/4 vs. Tolle, LHP, 2.36 ERA since 8/4 Wednesday, 7:10PM ET: Griffin, LHP 5.79 ERA since 8/4 vs. Gray, RHP 2.55 ERA since 8/4 Thursday, 6:45PM ET: TBD vs. Suarez, LHP 3.53 ERA since 8/4
Since August 4th, the Red Sox are led by Mickey Gasper 201 wRC+, Jahmai Jones 184 wRC+, Trevor Story 137 wRC+, Wilyer Abreu at 135 wRC+, Caleb Durbin 125 wRC+, Roman Anthony 113 wRC+ and Nick Sogard 108 wRC+.
Since 8/4, the Guardians are led by Chase DeLauter 159 wRC+, Angel Martinez 157 wRC+, Steven Kwan 138 wRC+, David Fry 118 wRC+, Travis Bazzana 114 wRC+ and Jo Adell 105 wRC+.
Gotta find a way to get one to make a playoff berth likely, two to keep the division title in sight.
Andy Green will manage the Mets in 2027, the team announced Tuesday. The interim tag he inherited when he took over for Carlos Mendoza earlier this year is gone, with Green signing a three-year deal.
The deal represents a pivot for Green and the organization, the former because he initially said he was reluctant to manage beyond this year since it would keep him away from his family, the latter because Steve Cohen and David Stearns said they planned to conduct a search for their next manager after this season.
But people in the organization, who were careful to speak anonymously so as not to complicate his decision, said they started sensing a change in Green’s mindset in recent weeks. They speculated that as a once turbulent Mets clubhouse seemed to coalesce around him, Green started warming to the possibility of balancing a dream job and his desire to by present for his daughters’ final year of high school.
In fact, multiple people pointed out that there might be no better time for a father of seniors in high school to take a job like this: Given that a lockout is a near certainty and a shortened spring training – if not a delayed start to the season – seems likely enough to plan around, he might never encounter a baseball spring that would let him stay home longer.
Still, exactly what changed and when is still unclear, though as of earlier this month, Green had not approached Cohen or Stearns about any change in plans, according to people familiar with the situation.
But by Saturday’s celebration of Carlos Beltran – when Beltran all but declared he was not interested in a managerial job for which he seemed like an early favorite – Green’s path seemed to have cleared. The Mets decided not to subject him to the rigors of a public search before committing.
Green, 49, managed the Padres to a 274-366 record over four years from 2016-2019. He was serving as the Mets senior vice president of baseball development when they approached him about taking over for Mendoza in June.
He said then that he took the job with the understanding it would be temporary out of a sense of responsibility to the organization. He, Stearns, and Cohen maintained that approach in the months that followed, though none of them fully ruled out the possibility that something could change any one of their minds.
And while the Mets did not exactly catch fire under Green – they were 37-38 under his watch at the time of the announcement – they did seem to find a more sustainable sense of self. Carson Benge flourished. Green challenged the young starting pitchers around whom the Mets must build next year. A surprisingly effective bullpen grew from the ashes of the one the Mets dismantled at the trade deadline. Bo Bichette seemed to find new comfort and spoke glowingly of Green’s people skills. Juan Soto and Francisco Lindor, well, spent the last month or two acting like two superstars working toward shared goals on perfectly good terms.
New York Mets interim manager Andy Green (70) leaves the field after changing pitchers against the Atlanta Braves during the seventh inning at Truist Park. / Dale Zanine-Imagn Images
“I have a lot of respect for Andy. I think he’s been good at the role that he’s got right now. Not necessarily the role of managing, because I didn’t see his role this year as to manage. His role, right now, was to come in and bring light, bring ownership, bring respect, and bring accountability. He’s succeeded at it,” Lindor told SNY last Saturday, at which point he said he had had not spoken to Green about changing his mind.
“In-game stuff, plays and all that stuff? He’s made good moves, but I don’t judge him on those things. I don’t really care about that. He was put in here more to bring light to the players, to bring accountability, to bring respect, to bring self-awareness. And that’s what he brought into the role he’s in right now.”
That role, of course, has been molded by the fact that the Mets have been effectively, if not mathematically, out of contention since he took over. The Padres teams he managed never played under the kind of scrutiny or expectations these Mets will next year.
But Green has passed the tests he has encountered with grace, particularly with his style of communication. His news conferences have blended candor with empathy in ways that are so far landing with both players and the public.
Last week, for example, Green navigated the emotional hurricane that was Pete Alonso’s return to Citi Field without discounting his players’ frustration with fans nor scolding fans for theirs. Presented with a fan base that operates with sometimes unparalleled, but often unregulated, passion, many Mets managers before him have struggled to do the same.
“I think he’s been good. Andy has his personality, he’s great. I feel like he’s a guy who is on top of everything. He pays attention to every single detail and stuff like that. I really like that,” Soto told SNY last weekend. “He’s been open with me and talking to me about a lot of stuff.”
It is not clear how much of the current Mets coaching staff will return, though Green helped assemble the revamped staff that worked with Mendoza to start the season and some of them are under contract beyond this year. Answers to those questions, and others, will come later.
For now, the Mets have certainty in the dugout entering an important offseason – one in which Bichette will be deciding whether to opt out and free agency will likely be condensed to a November frenzy ahead of the anticipated lockout in December. And that certainty comes in the form of Green, whose previous player development role means he knows better than anyone the young players who will carry the Mets’ future.
