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NEW YORK – Luis Rojas was fired as manager of the New York Mets on Monday after losing two seasons.
The team declined their option on Rojas’ 2022 contract, making the announcement a day after finishing third in the NL East at 77-85 in Steve Cohen’s first year of ownership. The move came as no surprise, the first of several big changes coming this offseason for a club in constant turmoil.
“I want to share such a heartfelt gratitude to so many members of the Mets organization for not only the past two seasons as a manager, but for the past 16 years in a variety of roles,” Rojas said in a released statement. by the team.
“We live in a results-driven company and I am deeply disappointed for our staff and our fans that we have not achieved our goals this season,” he said.
The Mets have said Rojas has been offered the option of remaining with the organization in a role yet to be determined. The club said decisions on coaching staff will be taken in the coming days.
“The entire Mets organization is grateful for the dedication and dedication Luis has shown over the past two seasons as manager,” team president Sandy Alderson said in a statement. “He has shown great commitment to the Mets for many years in a number of capacities. These decisions are never easy, but we believe a change is needed right now.”
Scheduled to challenge the playoffs or even a pennant with $ 341 million newcomer Francisco Lindor on shortstop, New York has led the division for 90 straight days despite a wave of injuries. Rojas praised his mastery of the hand and communication skills – he was even mentioned as a potential candidate for Manager of the Year.
But then it all fell apart in the last two months of the season.
With ace pitcher Jacob deGrom sidelined since the All-Star break due to a sprained elbow, New York took a plunge once August arrived. The formation languished even when in good health, and an overworked pitching staff began to crack.
Lindor missed more than five weeks in the second half with an oblique injury and only came out of his season slump too late. Michael Conforto, Jeff McNeil, Dominic Smith and James McCann also flopped at home, leaving Pete Alonso to carry the load.
An untimely 2-11 streak against the Dodgers and Giants, the two best teams in baseball, dropped the Mets five games to over 0.500 and tied for first place at 62-66 and 6½ games on August 26 . In a middle division, they lost their heads for good on August 14 and never really recovered.
Rojas made a series of questionable in-game decisions over the final stretch, and the collapse was complete when the Mets were knocked out of the playoffs on September 25 with more than a week left. They limped to the finish line in their losing fourth season in five years, and 10th in the last 13. New York has made the playoffs twice in the past 15 seasons, only advancing in 2015 on the path to a World Series appearance.
As the losses piled up, Rojas’ fate appeared to be sealed before the end of the season. New York went 26-34 in its first year at the helm, finishing tied for last place in the pandemic-shortened 2020 campaign.
“I have enjoyed my stay here for the past two years as a manager,” Rojas said last week, the writing already on the wall. “It was fun every day working with the guys, connecting with them and getting ready. We didn’t achieve what we wanted to accomplish.”
Rojas was quickly elevated to the rank of skipper in January 2020 by former Managing Director Brodie Van Wagenen replacing Carlos Beltran. The promotion came just days after Beltran was fired without handling a single game in the fallout of the Houston Astros’ sign-stealing scandal in 2017.
With only one big-league season under his belt as New York’s quality control coach, Rojas became the team’s fourth manager in 2.5 years – and third in four months. The move was applauded by veterans and young Mets players, including those like Alonso who played for the Rojas in the minors.
Rojas has been working in the Mets organization since 2007 and spent eight years as a minor league manager. He is the son of former Expos and Giants skipper Felipe Alou, and brother of former major league outfielder Moises Alou.
Rojas turned 40 on Sept. 1 and was the majors’ second youngest coach, 24 days older than Minnesota’s Rocco Baldelli.
“It was fun to play for him,” said Lindor. “I like him a lot. He brings a lot to the game. One of the biggest messages he brought this year was to be fearless.”
Next, Alderson and Cohen plan to seek out a president of baseball operations – and that person will likely be tasked with hiring the new manager.
The Mets initially intended to bring in a president of baseball operations last offseason, but were unable to interview key targets employed by other clubs, and at least one was not interested in coming. At New York.
So the Mets changed course, hiring Jared Porter as general manager to run baseball operations under Alderson. Porter was quickly fired after revelations he sent unwanted and sexually explicit text messages and images to a reporter in 2016 while working for the Cubs.
Zack Scott was promoted to acting chief executive and then put on paid administrative leave in early September after being arrested on August 31 for impaired driving. Since then, Alderson, 73, has served as Managing Director.
Scott pleaded not guilty to the DWI charge and three traffic violations. He is due to return to White Plains City court on October 7.
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