Over the last 48 hours, controversy and rumors of Carlos Beltran stepping down from his manager position have been surrounding the New York Mets. Should Beltran leave his job, who are the best candidates to jump in and take the reigns with less than a month until Spring Training starts?
When the Mets asked Carlos Beltrán during his managerial interview if he was involved with sign stealing in Houston pic.twitter.com/WUAz4e31ah
— Cara Jeffrey (@cara_jeffrey) January 15, 2020
Terry Collins
His name either brings back memories of happiness or causes other Mets fans to begin to gag. Collins would be a solid choice in a one-year role while the Mets try to figure out their manager for the following season. He has a good relationship with a majority of the roster and was a key figure of bringing the Mets out of their chaos from the early part of the last decade. Collins is the latest manager to bring the Mets to the World Series and already has direct experience with the job as Mets manager.
Hensley Meulens
Meulens is currently the bench coach for the Mets and has been involved in baseball since 1985 as a player. His experience and knowledge certainly qualifies him to become the manager. Meulens has managed the Netherlands multiple times in the Summer Olympics and World Baseball Classic. Since 2010, he spent time as the hitting coach and then bench coach under Bruce Bochy in the San Francisco Giants organization. Meulens has respect from players throughout the league and speaks five different languages.
Hensley Meulens managed a Dutch national team to a fourth place finish in the 2013 WBC. Their ace pitcher was a dude who played for a team in the Netherlands called DOOR Neptunus. DOOR NEPTUNUS BRO. If he could do that, he's leading the Mets to a 162-0 record.
— Josh (@bigjosh929) January 15, 2020
Eduardo Perez
Perez was originally one of the few remaining candidates who lost out on the Mets job. He has experience managing in Puerto Rico along with various coaching roles in the earlier part of the 2010s. As much as Perez would like the opportunity to manage, it would be hard to see him jumping out of a multi-year deal he signed to remain as an analyst on ESPN. Despite the lack of time he would have to prepare, the talent the Mets have on their roster may be too much to pass on.
Buck Showalter
Much like Collins, Showalter would be with the Mets as a short term option. His resume speaks for itself and is the most polished out of anyones on the list. Showalter’s last job with the Orioles did not end as smoothly as he wanted, and his older style of managing could be what the Mets need to get eyes focused on the product on the field, not off it. The seven names surrounding Showalter on the all-time wins list are all in the hall of fame, so he is not a wrong choice to settle on.
Anyone else just miss watching David Wright's sweet swing going deep to right-center all the time?
Because same. #LGM pic.twitter.com/kbij2PiTjf
— Bryan Schwartz (@BryanSchwartz_) January 9, 2020
David Wright
The chance of Wright taking the job has to be less than one percent, but you have to make the call to ask. With all the negativity surrounding the Mets, Wright is the joyful and hopeful face fans, and the organization can rally around. Wright represents the opposite approach the Mets could take when compared to Showalter. He knows the media, the clubhouse knows and respects him. Much like Beltran, Wright is a former player with a brilliant baseball mine and exceptional leadership qualities. With all the analytics and Brodie Van Wagenen involved, how much managing would he even need to do?