Jessica Mendoza leaves Mets, will stay at ESPN in new on-air role
Baseball analyst Jessica Mendoza signed an extension with ESPN and resigned from her advisory role with the New York Mets' front office, the television network announced Friday.
However, she'll no longer be part of the Sunday Night Baseball broadcast team and will instead serve as an analyst on ESPN's weeknight national broadcasts, among other duties.
"Some of the best memories of my career have been with Sunday Night Baseball and I will miss my time with our amazing crew, who have been like family," she said in a statement. "I'm grateful to ESPN for continuing to commit to me and I can't wait for the season to get started."
Mendoza joined the Mets as a special adviser to general manager Brodie Van Wagenen last spring - a hiring that caused controversy since she continued to work for ESPN as a broadcaster. She had called Sunday Night Baseball games for the network since 2015.
"We have enjoyed our relationship with Jessica and appreciated all her contributions and insight over the past year," Van Wagenen said in a statement Friday. "We are excited for her expanded role at ESPN and fully understand and support her need to fully invest her time in all the new platforms.
"We have such respect and value her baseball insight and know her impact on the game of baseball is just beginning."
In January, Mendoza criticized Oakland Athletics pitcher Mike Fiers for publicly sharing information about the Houston Astros' sign-stealing schemes. Her comments, made the same day that the Mets and manager Carlos Beltran agreed to part due to his role in the Astros' scandal, brought about more criticism regarding her continuing to work for both the team and ESPN. The Mets clarified that Mendoza made the remarks in her capacity as a journalist.
Commissioner Rob Manfred said Thursday that the league was concerned about broadcasters holding dual roles with teams. He cited Mendoza and Hall of Fame pitcher Pedro Martinez, a Boston Red Sox special assistant who also broadcasts for TBS and MLB Network.
"I'm not all that comfortable with it. I'm really not," Manfred said about broadcasters in dual roles, according to Ronald Blum of The Associated Press. "It's a topic that remains under discussion internally. It caused a lot of complications, not just on this particular incident or comments, but in general."
The 39-year-old Mendoza was a softball star at Stanford before becoming a broadcaster, and she helped the United States win a gold medal in the sport at the 2004 Olympics.