Mendoza: No discussions with Cohen, Stearns about job status

NEW YORK -- Carlos Mendoza certainly noticed when one of the most prominent managers in baseball, Alex Cora, was let go last weekend amidst a poor start for the Red Sox. He saw when one of his friends and mentors, Rob Thomson, suffered the same fate Tuesday morning with the Phillies.

In Flushing, though, it was status quo for Mendoza, who said his job has not come up in discussions with president of baseball operations David Stearns or owner Steve Cohen despite the Mets’ 9-19 start to the season.

“With David, it’s business as usual,” Mendoza said before his team opened a three-game series with the Nationals at Citi Field on Tuesday night. “With Steve, same. But I understand. As of right now, we continue to take it business as usual.”

While Monday’s off-day gave Mets officials ample time to discuss Mendoza’s job status, they did not follow the Red Sox and Phillies in making a move. Neither Stearns nor Cohen responded to text messages asking if Mendoza is safe, however, and Mendoza indicated that he obtained no assurances from either of his bosses. (He had previously received a series of texts earlier this month from Cohen, who urged him to stay the course.)

Instead, between Sunday and Tuesday’s games, Mendoza and Stearns busied themselves dealing with injury issues for Kodai Senga, Juan Soto and Luis Robert Jr.

“Business as usual,” Mendoza repeated.

Inside the clubhouse walls, Mendoza prefers to keep his messages to players private. Largely, he said, when addressing his team during this losing stretch, he has encouraged players to “keep it simple” and get back “to hitting fastballs.”

“There’s a reason why those guys are big league hitters,” Mendoza said, singling out New York’s 30th-ranked offense as the primary issue that must improve. “They dominated pitches like that throughout their careers. They’re talented. So they’ve just got to go back to do what they’ve done well.

“I believe in those guys. And I will continue to do so. It’s my job to get the best out of them.”

On Tuesday, Mendoza defended hitting coaches Jeff Albert and Troy Snitker while heaping responsibility on himself. During recent press conferences at Citi Field, Mendoza has not shied away from fielding questions about his job status, especially in light of the Cora and Thomson firings.

“It sucks what happened to those two guys -- guys that I consider [some] of the best at what they do,” Mendoza said. “You hate to see it happen, but you understand that it’s the business, and when you don’t see the results, it happens. I’m aware of it. I’m not going to run away from it. But the one thing I can do is just continue to show up here and get the best out of my players. That’s my responsibility, what I’m spending all my energy [on]. But obviously, I understand the whole situation.”