Reese Kaplan -- What Kind of GM Should David Stearns Hire?

Already the blogosphere is exploding with thousands upon thousands of words extolling particular GM and managerial candidates for David Stearns and Steve Cohen to hire to help propel the Mets forward after their highly expensive and entirely forgettable 2023.  We won't focus on what has been nor on who helped create what did and didn't work.  Instead let's focus on the types of personnel we need going forward to ensure a slow and steady path to consistent contention for post season baseball.

On the GM front, there are a number of ways to go.  You can go out and hire a former or current GM from another ballclub who brings with him or her a detailed history of success in constructing a roster, identifying baseball talent and balancing the need to win with bankrupting the team coffers.  There are any number of candidates who fit this pattern and any of them could be successes here in New York.

The problem with bringing in a known star to head up the GM role is in a way kind of repeating the Billy Eppler mistake.  I won't get into the did he or didn't he diatribe regarding his alleged manipulation of the IL which the MLB investigative division is current analyzing.  No, I'm talking more about the fact that a star GM is going to want to have the freedom to make baseball decisions without having to be consistent with nor get the permission of the POBO.  

With David Stearns firmly on board, there's no question who is the last man in the line of baseball decision making.  For a GM to acquiesce in this way means he is content to play an artificially constrained role where his decision making is curtailed significantly, yet he will be the one blamed when something the POBO endorses doesn't work since it is the GM's job to make roster and personnel decisions.  

As such, many of the available former GMs might want to think twice about this role knowing that the buck stops with him despite the POBO having the ability to endorse or deny the GM's decisions.

Another approach to take would be someone who is in the Assistant GM position for another ballclub who has had a solid track record of bringing success to his employer's team.  These types of individuals may not have had the full reigns of autonomy in the past and as such would be more amenable to having the POBO lend his oversight to team personnel decisions.  

A younger and less experienced person of this nature might be a good long term investment for the team as he would be growing into the GM role while eventually needing far less hand holding from David Stearns yet understanding his role in the baseball management hierarchy.  

In this overly simplistic consideration of the two approaches, it would seem with an experienced and successful GM now serving as the POBO, the second approach might indeed be the better one for the Mets to take.  You could easily go out and get someone like Omar Minaya to return as a GM, the fact is that you will run into all of the issues identified in the section on experienced GMs.  

On the other hand, if you choose to give an opportunity to a talented but relatively inexperienced Assistant GM with Daniel Stearns providing guidance to help him develop, then you have someone the POBO can control while at the same time finding someone who respects his place in the management team.  Seeking out strong candidates from organizations with good structure and talent is a valid approach in that you can bring their attitude and decision making to the Mets to help them become a winning team in the long term.