Bullet point summary by AI
- Several would-be contenders are off to historically poor starts, putting their managers under intense scrutiny as the league enters its fourth week of play.
- Houston’s Joe Espada is facing particularly urgent pressure due to a combination of high expectations and severe injury problems despite his new contract.
- The situation suggests an impending shakeup that could dramatically alter the team’s direction before the All-Star break.
The MLB season isn’t even a full month old, but at the end of the day, patience wears thin fast in this sport. Teams that get off to a bad start might end up feeling pressure to make a major move, and since blockbuster trades rarely happen before July, that major move is often firing a manager. More often than not, those managers don’t deserve to be fired, but that’s the only idea anyone can think of to try to spark things in the right direction.
With that in mind, there are several managers on the hot seat right now thanks to their respective teams getting off to poor starts. One of these managers in particular feels most likely to be fired first.
MLB managers on the hot seat
Carlos Mendoza, New York Mets
No manager’s seat feels hotter than Carlos Mendoza right now, and for obvious reasons. His New York Mets came off one of the worst late-season collapses in recent memory in 2025, and they’ve started 2026 by going 7-15 with an active 11-game losing streak. It’s early, and it largely isn’t Mendoza’s fault that they’re struggling, but the Mets are tied for the worst record in the Majors. If this persists, the team might not have a choice.
Rob Thomson, Philadelphia Phillies
If it weren’t for the Mets, the Philadelphia Phillies‘ struggles would probably be generating more national headlines right now. As bad as the Mets look, the 8-13 Phillies are only 1.5 games ahead of them, and they themselves have lost five in a row. Philly began the year with World Series expectations, so if things continue to trend in the wrong direction, it wouldn’t be shocking to see Rob Thomson lose his job. We’ve seen Dave Dombrowski make a midseason managerial change to perfection in Philadelphia before.
Joe Espada, Houston Astros
The Houston Astros were just swept at home by the St. Louis Cardinals and are 8-15 on the year. Injuries are a big reason why they’ve struggled, and the roster construction is an issue, but it’s hard to ignore the trend line here: Houston failed to win a single playoff game in 2024, failed to make the playoffs in 2025 and is now off to a brutal start in 2026. The Joe Espada era has not gone to plan, and while it’s far from only his fault, his seat is piping hot.
Matt Quatraro, Kansas City Royals
Like Thomson, Matt Quatraro inked an extension prior to this season, so it’s pretty jarring to see him on this list. That extension probably bought him a long-ish leash, but the Kansas City Royals are tied with the Mets for the worst team in baseball record-wise right now. If the Royals keep losing, can they afford to keep Quatraro around much longer? And can they afford to waste a year of Bobby Witt Jr.’s prime?
Why Joe Espada will be the first MLB manager to get fired this season
All four managers above have legitimate reasons for being on the hot seat, but Joe Espada feels like the most likely manager to be fired first for several reasons.
First, the Astros feel like the team most in trouble of any on this list. The Mets are a mess, but Juan Soto’s return is imminent, and their struggling stars have to get going at some point, right? The Phillies are about to get Zack Wheeler back and, like New York, are bound to score more runs with the offense they have in place. The Royals are yet another team that just has way more offensive talent than they’ve shown. Houston, though, has a weird infield logjam and a slew of pitching injuries to overcome without a whole lot of depth to speak of. I don’t know how many teams can survive without Hunter Brown, Tatsuya Imai and Josh Hader (to name a few) for a prolonged period as the Astros are attempting to do.
It goes without saying that a team that continues to lose when the expectations were high, at least internally, will be the most desperate to make a change. There’s no easier change for a team in peril to make than firing the manager, especially when Espada has done nothing but underperform in Houston.
Second, and more importantly, Espada’s contract is up after this season, as is GM Dana Brown’s. As mentioned above, Quatraro and Thomson just signed extensions. Mendoza’s contract is up after this season, too, but David Stearns is not. Stearns likely isn’t feeling the same pressure to make a major move with his job security in mind, unlike Brown, who is probably looking for a new job this winter if his team doesn’t turn things around ASAP.
Does Espada deserve to be fired? That can be debated. There have been some questionable bullpen decisions, but the roster he was given has clear, fundamental issues. Again, though, managers don’t always deserve to get fired, even when they are let go. There’s every reason to believe that, justified or not, Espada can’t afford many more losses if he wants to remain the Astros’ skipper.
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