2026 Syracuse Mets: The Rising Stars Who Could Change the Game Forever

All in all, the team got off to a sluggish start and struggled to really build momentum, with the promotion-and-demotion of players augmenting the Mets’ lineup really having an effect on the team. They ended the first half with a 31-44 record, 7th in the International League East Division, 16.0 games behind the first place Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp, and were one of the bottom teams in all of Triple-A baseball. In the second half, Syracuse benefited from promotions from Double-A Binghamton, with top prospects such as Carson Benge, Jett Williams, Jonah Tong, Nolan McLean, and Ryan Clifford all suiting up for Syracuse. Additionally, a handful of players who had otherwise struggled in the first half righted the ship to some degree. The team went 46-29 in the second half, their magic number running out in the last week of the season.

Dick Scott will be returning as team skipper, his fourth year as manager. Joining him will be John Nogowski, who will be serving as bench coach, A.J. Sager, who will be serving as pitching coach, and Nate Irving, who will be serving as hitting coach. Nogowski will be replacing 2025 bench coach J.P. Arencibia, while Sager will be reprising his 2025 role and Irving will be replacing 2025 hitting coach Rick Guarno.

The 2026 season will be Dick Scott’s thirteenth year in the New York Mets organization. Besides coaching Syracuse for the last four, he also served as Coordinator of Coaching Development and Instruction in 2021-2022, New York Mets bench coach in 2016-2017, Director of Player Development in 2012-2015, and was a Minor League Field Coordinator in 2011-2012.

The 2026 season will be John Nogowski’s first season not just with the Mets, but as a coach. The infielder attended Florida State University and was drafted by the Oakland Athletics in the 34th round of the 2014 MLB Draft, the 1,032nd player selected overall. He was released in 2017, signed a contract with the Sioux City Explorers of the American Association a few months later, and then was signed by the St. Louis Cardinals a few weeks later. He remained in their organization for the next few years, making his MLB debut in 2020, and was traded to the Pittsburgh Pirates in exchange for cash considerations in July 2021, getting released by them at the end of the season.