NEW YORK (AP) — In a change of direction, the New York Mets hired interim manager Andy Green for the full-time job on Tuesday, giving him a three-year contract.
The team made the announcement before starting its final road trip of the year with the opener of a three-game series in Texas against the Rangers.
“Over the course of the season, it became evident that the next manager of the New York Mets was already in place,” president of baseball operations David Stearns said in a statement. “Andy has demonstrated strong leadership qualities and a unique ability to forge connections with our emerging core and distinguished veterans. I look forward to continuing our great partnership as we turn toward the 2027 season.”
Green, who managed the San Diego Padres from 2016-19, had been running New York's farm system before taking over as interim manager when Carlos Mendoza was fired in late June. At the time, Green said he wasn't particularly interested in becoming a permanent skipper again, citing the desire to keep spending time with his three daughters and saying he viewed his interim role on the bench as more of a responsibility to the club than a personal opportunity.
Stearns said Green would return to a front-office role after the season, a stance the executive stuck to in the months that followed — even as the last-place Mets (71-85) improved on the field and several rookies who rose through the minors under Green such as Carson Benge and Nolan McLean flourished in the big leagues as well.
“The players in the clubhouse have rekindled the love I have for being in the dugout," Green said at a pregame news conference in Texas.
And in the end, the Mets committed to Green and chose not to conduct a full search for a new manager this offseason.
“I think Andy is the perfect person for this job,” Stearns said.
“Andy has connected with and pushed our players to perform, despite the disappointment of the season,” Mets owners Steve and Alex Cohen said in the 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 are excited for his continued leadership in the dugout.”
Coming into the season, the Mets had high expectations for a franchise without a World Series title since 1986. New York opened the season with baseball’s highest payroll at $358 million and was projected to pay an additional $124 million in luxury tax.
But the Mets underperformed early and were beset by key injuries to Juan Soto, Francisco Lindor and others. They were 34-47 at the midpoint of the season when Mendoza was fired on June 26. The team is 37-38 since Green took over.
“The last three months I think there’s been progress,” Green said. “We’ve got more to do.”
The 49-year-old Green, a former major league infielder, went 274-366 as Padres manager and finished with a losing record in all four seasons. He joined the Mets in 2023 as senior vice president of baseball development and becomes the 26th manager in franchise history.
“I am excited and humbled to officially be named manager of the New York Mets,” Green said in the statement. “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.”
See AP’s full MLB coverage here
New York Mets interim manager Andy Green, left, takes the ball from pitcher Christian Scott during the fifth inning of a baseball game against the Philadelphia Phillies, Saturday, Sept. 19, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Noah K. Murray)
New York Mets interim manager Andy Green answers questions during a news conference, Sunday, Sept. 20, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Noah K. Murray)
NEW YORK (AP) — On a day of high-stakes diplomacy on the global stage, President Donald Trump began his United Nations visit by telling a prominent U.S. journalist, “You should not be here.”
“It’s an honor to be here,” Trump said as he entered U.N. doors Tuesday ahead of his speech to the General Assembly and faced Kaitlan Collins of CNN, a frequent target of his ire. “I’m surprised that CNN is here covering me. You should not be here covering me. You said you weren’t going to cover me.”
As Collins noted later on air, CNN said nothing of the kind. The administration had banned CNN from White House grounds days earlier — along with MS NOW and Politico — and removed the network from pool duty. But CNN had been admitted into the U.N. as regularly credentialed media.
In any case, the tense moment was a stark reminder of how dramatically the bitter conflict between Trump and news outlets whose coverage he objects to as “fake news" has escalated in just a few days.
The current ban was the subject of a joint lawsuit filed Monday by the three outlets, asking a judge to find the administration's move unconstitutional. The White House had until Tuesday to respond, and a hearing is scheduled for Wednesday afternoon.
Later Tuesday, Trump doubled down on his remarks and said negative coverage was dangerous for the country.
Asked whether he would allow the outlets back in if the court rules against the White House, he said, “Well, it probably will, because this is a judge who’s not a particularly fair judge.” He was referring to U.S. District Judge Timothy Kelly, whom he appointed in 2017 and who ordered a CNN journalist’s access restored in a similar case in 2018.
“So you never know,” Trump added. "I think we have a right to clean out fake news."
Trump’s comments echoed others he's made since announcing the ban Friday. He has referred to “purposely negative stories,” but cited no specific stories — only generally “fake news” — as justification for the ban.
The ban and lawsuit are part of a long-running conflict between the president — especially in his second term — and media outlets he finds unfavorable. Trump has responded in the courtroom, or with regulatory action. He's also lashed out at individual reporters in person or over social media, sometimes in strikingly personal terms — as he has with CNN's Collins, most recently in a speech at the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner.
On air, after her exchange with Trump on Tuesday, Collins said: “We never said we were not going to cover the president. We will do our best to cover him each and every day.”
Tuesday began with an item missing from the daily press schedule issued by the White House: It did not list the U.S. network pool, a departure from the norm.
CNN had been the designated pool network for the president’s trip to New York, according to a schedule that divides coverage of certain events between the five major networks. But Trump's ban removed it from pool duties.
The other pool members agreed, in solidarity, not to replace CNN with another network on the coverage, and further to suspend all pool coverage until further notice. Other news outlets also took steps in solidarity. The Associated Press joined a number of news organizations, including The Washington Post and The New York Times, in a decision not to publish photographs of presidential events Monday.
It remains to be seen how long both the ban and the collective media action will continue.
In speeches and meetings Tuesday, Trump was seen plenty by global audiences, thanks to UNTV — the official United Nations broadcast arm — and pool journalists covering other international leaders.
Meanwhile, a sign was spotted in the White House workspace: “I stand with AP, CNN, MS NOW, Politico.”
One longtime TV analyst says the lack of constant coverage will prove damaging to a spotlight-loving president — which may be one reason the standoff ultimately ends.
“This ban is not going to go on forever because he doesn’t want that to happen, anymore than anybody else,” said Robert Thompson, director of Syracuse University’s Bleier Center for Television and Popular Culture.
In the short term, Thompson said, audiences won't feel the impact in a lasting way — after all, he noted, there are many ways people get news outside of network coverage.
“We are not going to be deprived of important civic information,” Thompson said, as might have happened years ago when outlets and options were fewer.
On the other hand, if viewers were interested in what Trump said as he inaugurated a helipad at the White House on Monday, they were out of luck: The sound of Trump’s whirring, waiting helicopter drowned out his remarks. TV network crews usually work to capture clearer audio.
On a deeper level, Thompson said, news consumers will be impacted in a more serious way. He called out Trump's remarks labeling negative media coverage "dangerous" as troubling.
“These casual remarks, not even disguised, about what we always considered basic freedoms of the press ... that, I think, is a lot more serious,” he said.
President Donald Trump attends a multilateral meeting with the Gulf Cooperation Council during the United Nations General Assembly, Tuesday, Sept. 22, 2026, at the UN headquarters. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)
A sign in support of news outlets is seen at the White House press room, Sept. 19, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)
