The New York Mets didn’t have any luck with their general managers in 2021. Jared Porter lost his job amid a sexual harassment scandal, and acting GM Zack Scott had a DUI arrest. In any case, neither man could bring sustained success for the Mets, who did hold the first place on the NL East for months but crumbled late and finished third with a 77-85 record, far from the playoff spots.
That’s why it is a priority for the Mets to hire a president of baseball operations during the offseason, to take over baseball-related decisions and name a general manager who can lead the franchise to greener pastures.
At the moment, there are several candidates. Theo Epstein will reportedly not take over the Mets, but two successful, forward-thinking baseball guys remain a possibility to fulfil the role: Oakland A’s Billy Beane, and Milwaukee Brewers’ mastermind David Stearns.
Beane is, according to SNY, considering the role. According to two long-time friends of Billy Beane say that the A’s exec is “very much open to the idea” of joining the Mets as their head of baseball operations.
The other candidates to take over the Mets’ baseball operations
Stearns, on the other hand, seems a bit harder to pry away from the Brewers. They are an up-and-coming franchise that has made the playoffs four consecutive years, from 2018 to 2021, after he took over as general manager in 2015. He was promoted to president of baseball operations in 2019.
SNY also recently reported that the Los Angeles Dodgers’ current assistant GM, Brandon Gomes, is a candidate to fill a front office position.
Both men are qualified to take over as the next Mets’ head of baseball operations, but getting them out of their current teams won’t be so easy. The fall is just starting, and the organization has some time to make the best decision.
The sooner the Mets can have their POBO, the better, as they can start planning the entire offseason, free agent acquisitions, and potential trades.