Reese Kaplan: Early David Stearns Actions Somewhat Unexpected

Earlier this week word filtered out from some of the Mets beat writers that the team has decided not to hire its new manager internally.  While no one was exactly clamoring for Carlos Beltran, Joey Cora or Eric Chavez to be handed the reins to run the team on the field, it had to come as a tremendous shock to those individuals if this reporting turns out to be true.  

Obviously it's no secret that everyone's first choice for the managerial slot is lame duck Milwaukee Brewers manager Craig Counsell.  Many folks feel that the signing of David Stearns to be the new POBO was done in part due to his strong connections to the Wisconsin team and his likelihood of being able to lure select members from that club to the Mets.  It's no secret that Counsell's contract expires at the end of this month and it seems a pre-written verse of history that he's destined to put on a Mets uniform.

Of course, the flip side is that he's from Milwaukee, spent part of his long career there, has managed there for 9 years and finished in 1st or 2nd in 6 of those campaigns.  He has children going to college in the midwest and had even hinted about taking a year off from the managerial role to spend time with his family.  Right now the Brewers have an exclusive right to negotiate with Counsell to extend his stay at the helm and being out of the playoffs there is no reason for them to give less than 95% attention to this matter.  

While there are detractors who say that Counsell would be crushed by the expectations in New York and the intense media scrutiny of his every baseball and non-baseball action taken, the fact is he's a veteran skipper who at age 53 is poised to be in whatever dugout he chooses for a very long time.  It is certainly easier for him to remain in Milwaukee where he has familiarity with the team, the farm system, the city and his family needs.  Not every decision is motivated by the almighty dollar, but as Mets fans we well remember when it seemed natural to extend Jose Reyes only to have him declare he'd head out for the highest salary offered anywhere.

Also revealed in this alleged inside scoop on Mets managerial hiring strategy is that they will indeed consider first year managers from the coaching ranks.  Now it's a little different when you hand the lineup pencil to a guy who was a great player but who hasn't logged several seasons on the coach's bench elsewhere learning the nuances of motivation and discipline more than simply having been a stellar player in his prime.  For every Carlos Beltran there's a lesser player like Counsell, Buck Showalter and others who find their second career track record being more impressive than their playing stats were.

Many of the the names here are well known, like Joe Espada of the still-playing Houston Astros.  What's interesting is that he's been interviewing for managerial slots for about four years now.  Perhaps more telling is the fact that an offer has not yet been extended to him.  

We can play this same game with any number of other seemingly qualified rookie managers, but the narrative being heard is that the club is seeking a coach from a team with a strong use of modern baseball analytics.  That's kind of a backhanded slap at former manager Showalter who was more old school in his highly effective managerial career when health of his players didn't interfere with results.  

There are obviously pros and cons to going outside the organization to hire a manager.  Someone who does not know the Mets way of doing things intimately will bring a fresh and different perspective from his previous experience with other teams.  With David Stearns having a fresh start here it's somewhat understandable that he would look to provide a fresh start on the field as well with the managerial hiring decision.

Now many folks are wondering about the rush to get a manager but the seemingly more gradual pace in finding a replacement for Billy Eppler.  For example, the Marlins just recently agreed to a parting of the ways with Kim Ng as their GM and many are wondering why the Mets are not pouncing quickly to extend that role to her with the much higher budgeted team here in Queens.  

The parallel question is whether the hiring results are in reverse as it is typically the GM who does the hiring of the new manager.  In this case it's possible that David Stearns will act as GM for the foreseeable future and as such make the field manager hiring decision then foist off the new manager on whatever GM is brought to the Mets front office.

The last issue that came up with the advocacy of hiring a new manager quickly and of not intending to extend the managerial position to in-house options, what exactly becomes of the coaching staff?  While people are seemingly quite happy with the job 3rd base coach Joey Cora and 1st base coach Wayne Kirby have been doing, there is not quite the same enthusiasm for the pitching coach, the bullpen coach, the hitting coaches and others who will likely get the blame for the 2023 results.  

Normally a new manager is given the latitude to make his own coaching hiring decisions, so all of these folks would seem to be on pretty thin ice.  Bench coach Eric Chavez is highly regarded, but what he does in that role is not nearly as visible as what he did in 2022 during the 101 win season with the hitters.  If he learns he's not slated for advancement on the Mets then he, like Beltran, may be looking for a new employer.

There are lots of balls in the air right now (which is a bad analogy for the sport of baseball), but in the early going it appears that David Stearns is not following anyone's scripted forecast of how things were going to progress.  That's not necessarily a bad thing, but it is not familiar and hence the uneasiness about not knowing how this off season will unfold.