Mets: Luis Rojas treats the 2020 season as a learning experience and is eager to return

When the New York Mets welcomed new owner Steve Cohen and president Sandy Alderson, they said that it was “very likely” that Luis Rojas, who led the team to a 26-34 mark in the shortened 2020 season, would return to be the manager in 2021. Alderson stopped short of writing it in stone because he wanted to hire a president of baseball operations and a general manager first, to gather their opinion.

However, the landscape has changed. The New York Mets won’t hire a president of baseball operations, and Alderson will fulfill the role. They will, instead, focus on bringing a GM. What was Alderson’s first decision as the person leading the baseball department? Officialize Luis Rojas as the Mets’ skipper.

In an interview with MLB.com’s Nathalie Alonso, Rojas expressed his happiness about returning to lead the Mets for 2021.

“The excitement of thinking about what it’s going to be like and the talk of how active we’re going to be this offseason with the goal of being a competitive team next year, that’s something that motivates you to prepare even more and keep growing within the game,” Rojas said by phone, in Spanish, from his native Dominican Republic.

Rojas is a beloved figure in the Mets’ organization. He has performed a variety of roles, including manager in the minor leagues, quality control, and bench coach. The players like and respect him.

The Mets want to foster a good organizational climate

The manager is eager to start working and thanks Alderson for the opportunity. He describes his new boss as “authentic.”

“Sandy always came to give motivational speeches to all the coaches about how we were all connected, from the big leagues to the Minors, and how we were a family,” Rojas said. “You could sense the spirit of collaboration, in which we were all part of the machinery of the organization for developing players and getting them to the big league club.”

It is true that the Mets disappointed in 2020, but it would be irresponsible to ignore the fact that they had virtually no rotation depth and had to deal with injuries and opt-outs, perhaps more than any other team.

“I think this past year was a great frame of reference for us to get ready, and for me to get ready, for 2021, if there are protocols in place,” said Rojas.

But Rojas, and the Mets, think everything will be better, and that the manager will improve and learn from his mistakes and his first season in charge.

“I think about a lot of situations in the game that we had, that we experienced, and I see different angles and different decisions that could have been made,” Rojas said. “A lot of learning took place. I hope to keep doing that, to keep talking to the staff and to keep improving as a coach and as a manager.”