With the Wilpons on their way out as the owners of the New York Mets, the shot-calling will soon be passed to incoming owner Steve Cohen, the billionaire hedge-fund mogul who is in the process of buying out the Sterling Equities group – Fred Wilpon and his son, Jeff and brother-in-law Saul Katz.
That authority appears to be shifting sooner than people may have thought. The Mets are in the throes of hiring a new manager after Carlos Beltran stepped aside due to his role in the Houston Astros sign-stealing scandal.
Cohen may not weigh in on the decision, according to Mike Puma of the New York Post, but the Mets’ brass is keeping Cohen in mind when making the hire.
The fear of team executives that Cohen would question the hiring of somebody who wasn’t considered for the job when Mickey Callaway was fired in October (veterans such as Dusty Baker and Buck Showalter, among others, weren’t interviewed) had tilted the search in quality control coach Luis Rojas’ favor as of Monday. Not only did Rojas receive multiple interviews for the job during the last managerial search, he would represent continuity, less than three weeks before pitchers and catchers are scheduled to report to Port St. Lucie, Fla., for spring training.
Not all of the candidates interviewed last year are available at the moment. Derek Shelton was hired by San Diego but Baker, Showalter, Rojas and Eduardo Perez are still without teams. It would be wise for general manager Brodie Van Wagenen to hire a candidate that is more of a sure thing than a lark at this point. Cohen is watching.