Mike's Mets - The Challenges Ahead

 

By Mike Steffanos

We find ourselves halfway through November, and the New York Mets' front office search hasn't been resolved yet. By all reports, the club is focused on hiring a GM. Other reports indicate the Mets still hope to install the Brewers' David Stearns as PBO after his current contract runs out next year. In that case, this year's GM hire would slot in underneath Stearns in the Mets front office hierarchy.

In a piece written for The Athletic a few days ago by Tim Britton, Britt Ghiroli, and Ken Rosenthal, they report:

...New York is operating under the belief that Stearns’ contract runs out after the 2022 season, and sources indicate that Stearns has serious interest in the position.

If this is indeed the case, I would assume that Stearns has found a way to communicate to the Mets that he wants the job. Britton and his co-authors apparently also have sources confirming that interest, as indicated in the above quote from the piece. This would also contradict earlier reports that Stearns was happy in Milwaukee and not interested in the Mets' job, so I take it all with a grain of salt.

Of course, if the last two years have shown us anything, it's that things can change over time. I would only hope that the Mets aren't counting on this playing out. The club should be evaluating options based on the possibility of whoever gets hired as GM becoming the number two man to Stearns, but also potentially being the #1 guy if Stearns never comes to New York.

By now, I'm sure that the serious Mets fans who read these thoughts are aware that former Nationals Assistant GM Adam Cromie seems to be receiving serious consideration for the GM position. Given that he's been out of baseball since 2017, I don't imagine he'd object to ultimately having the #2 job in baseball ops. However, the Mets need to be confident that Cromie could handle running things for at least a season. Maybe longer if the Stearns situation doesn't play out as they hope.

In the article in The Atheltic, Sandy Alderson is quoted from Wednesday at the GM Meetings that the Mets were "still going through the process," but also expressing hope that the team was "getting to the end of this general manager search." I think we can all strongly second that hope. It's my honest belief that the media's criticism of this process has been unfairly harsh, but that certainly doesn't mean it's been entirely unwarranted. The organization led by Alderson and Steve Cohen have certainly made their share of missteps. This search for a candidate to run baseball operations certainly hasn't proceeded flawlessly.

However, what can't be overlooked is the importance of the Mets just getting things as right as possible. In the New York Post, Joel Sherman criticized Sandy Alderson's comments from last week that blamed the market for the reluctance of a good number of candidates to even interview for the job. As quoted in Sherman's piece, Alderson stated:

Admittedly there’s a reluctance to come to New York, but I think it's mostly about New York, and not about Steve or the organization or what have you. It's a big stage, and some people would prefer to be elsewhere.

Sherman took exception to that, and I think he had a point. I wouldn't characterize candidates' reluctance as "mostly about New York," as Alderson put it. I think the New York market does play a significant role, but the Mets have certainly opened themselves up to questions about the organization's direction. If a potential candidate has hesitation about operating under the white-hot spotlight of the New York media, imagine how that hesitation is magnified by the stumbles the organization has made since Steve Cohen took over.

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