As the New York Mets announced that Luis Rojas would return as the team manager for the 2021 season, president Sandy Alderson was very happy to welcome him back into the fold.
“I’m very happy about that decision,†Alderson said. “I think Luis is happy as well, and I’m looking forward to working with Luis with our new general manager and the rest of the new baseball operations group toward a successful 2021 season.â€
Two weeks ago, the New York Mets’ president had said that Rojas was “very likely” to return as the team skipper, but didn’t quite make it official because he said that the president of baseball operations and the general manager, two positions that still haven’t been filled, would like to have a say in that decision.
However, as the Mets let the world know Rojas is coming back, Alderson said that they will not fill the president of baseball operations position. Instead, he explained that he will focus on finding a general manager.
Alderson is in charge of the Mets’ baseball decisions
That means Alderson, who was the Mets’ general manager from 2010 until 2018, will make baseball decisions at least for the time being.
Alderson said that the Mets have, so far, interviewed six candidates for the GM spot. There will be a second round of interviews, so an announcement is not imminent.
For now, Alderson seems very pleased about his first major on-field staff decision: securing Rojas’ role as a manager.
“Luis as an individual, as a person who’s able to relate to his players both in terms of their professional work as well as their personal lives, I think he’s exceptional in that regard,†Alderson said. “On the professional side, managing a game, I think that he will be better. We need to make sure that he has all of the necessary resources to be better and make good decisions based not only on his own judgment, but information that’s available. He’s very open to that. So I’m very happy that Luis is coming back, both from a personal standpoint and a professional standpoint,†he told Anthony DiComo of MLB.com.