Latest On Mets Front Office
Freshly minted Mets owner Steve Cohen seems to be having a blast in his new role atop the organization, but that doesn’t mean it’s all coming easy. While the club looks to be a prime landing spot for industry executives, Cohen and president Sandy Alderson have not had the easiest time of recruiting new baseball operations leadership.
Cohen acknowledged as much in comments this evening, as Mike Puma of the New York Post covers on Twitter. “I thought it would be a little bit easier than it has been,” Cohen said of his efforts to build out a new staff, including a replacement for outgoing general manager Brodie Van Wagenen.
The problem, per Cohen, is that it’s tough to get qualified candidates in the door for a chat. “Baseball is kind if funny,” he says, “where you have to ask for permission and we are not getting a lot of permission.”
It’s interesting to wonder whether the deep-pocketed Cohen is facing stiffer-than-usual headwinds in his rookie offseason. Regardless, it appears that the Mets have been stymied at least in holding exploratory talks with several intriguing potential targets.
That explains why the club recently decided to drop the concept of hiring a president of baseball operations in favor of pursuing a GM. Then again, it may not only be a matter of being thwarted by fellow teams. Zack Meisel of The Athletic indicates (subscription link) that Indians GM Mike Chernoff elected on his own accord not to pursue the president of baseball ops opening in New York.
At the moment, relatively little is known about the Mets’ preferred candidates for the top remaining baseball ops openings. Former hurler and league executive Chris Young is known to have interviewed recently, but he’s the only publicly identified GM possibility. (Michael Hill is also known to have interviewed, though it may be that he was being looked at for the now-abandoned president of baseball operations gig.)
There is one new name to keep an eye on. Former club exec J.P. Ricciardi is on the radar of Cohen and Alderson, according to SNY.tv’s Andy Martino. Ricciardi is certainly a familiar face, having served as a special assistant to Alderson for the entirety of the latter’s original tenure as GM.
Though the market is open, it doesn’t seem the Mets feel much urgency in this arena. Martino says the organization is active in pursuing improvements but isn’t yet close to making significant additional front office hires.
Latest On Angels’ GM Search
OCT. 30, 6:07pm: Brewers assistant GM Matt Arnold has also interviewed with the Angels, per Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic. Arnold was a candidate for Pittsburgh’s GM vacancy last winter, but that position went to Ben Cherington.
3:47pm: Ricciardi is not a candidate, Fletcher tweets. Former Giants GM Bobby Evans has received an interview, though, and Mariners assistant GM Justin Hollander (formerly with the Angels) is also in the mix, according to Fletcher. Additionally, they’ve reached out to Eddie Bane, their former scouting director, to gauge his interest in the GM job, Robert Murray reports.
OCT. 29, 11:01pm; Former Marlins president of baseball operations Michael Hill, Nationals special assistant to the GM Dan Jennings and Cubs VP of player personnel Jason McLeod are also in the running, according to Kiley McDaniel of ESPN.
10:28pm: The Angels have moved slowly to find a new general since firing Billy Eppler at the end of September, but at least a few names have emerged for the job, per reports from Robert Murray, Jon Heyman of MLB Network, Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register, Maria Torres of the Los Angeles Times and Mike Puma of the New York Post.
According to the aforementioned group of reporters, Diamondbacks assistant general managers Jared Porter and Amiel Sawdaye, Athletics assistant Billy Owens and Padres senior advisor Logan White have all interviewed for the job in Anaheim. Giants special advisor J.P. Ricciardi, once the Blue Jays’ GM, is also in the running. The Angels also contacted Cubs vice president of scouting Dan Kantrovitz to gauge his interest in the position, but he’s not a candidate. Kantrovitz turned down the Angels’ overtures and will stay with the Cubs in 2021, Sahadev Sharma of The Athletic reports.
While both Porter and Sawdaye received new contracts with the Diamondbacks just over a year ago, perhaps they’re amenable to taking over another team’s baseball operations. Owens just finished his 19th season in the A’s front office, though he may be open to a change with executive VP Billy Beane possibly set to pursue other interests. And then there’s White, who previously worked for the Dodgers but has been with the Padres since before 2015.
Of course, anyone succeeding Eppler will be taking over a fairly appealing situation. The Angels have missed the postseason six times in a row, but they have the game’s best player, center fielder Mike Trout, as well as a great complement in third baseman Anthony Rendon. Infielder David Fletcher, two-way player Shohei Ohtani, young outfielder Jo Adell and starters Dylan Bundy and Andrew Heaney are also on hand. Plus, owner Arte Moreno has typically been willing to spend, so the budget shouldn’t be a hindrance for the club’s next GM.
Giants Likely To Hire J.P. Ricciardi In Advisory Role
Former Blue Jays general manager and Mets special assistant J.P. Ricciardi is finalizing a new contract to join the Giants’ front office as a senior advisor, reports Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports (via Twitter). It’ll be the first of what should be several front office additions for new president of baseball operations Farhan Zaidi. Andrew Baggarly and Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic first reported talks between the two sides (Twitter link).
The 59-year-old Ricciardi spent eight years as a special advisor to the general manager in New York played a prominent role in the front office between the time at which Sandy Alderson stepped down as general manager and Brodie Van Wagenen was hired as Alderson’s successor. Ricciardi, along with fellow advisor Omar Minaya and assistant GM John Ricco, shared the workload of overseeing the Mets’ baseball operations department for much of the summer following Alderson’s departure. The Mets announced last month that the two sides had “mutually” agreed to part ways.
Ricciardi is no stranger to the Bay Area, having come up through the ranks with the Athletics in the late 80s and early 90s. The veteran exec broke into the front office side of the game as an area scout with the A’s in 1986 and rose to the titles of scouting supervisor, national crosschecker and, in 1999, director of player development. The Blue Jays hired him as their general manager in 2001 — a role he’d hold for eight years before being replaced by Alex Anthopoulos in 2009. Ricciardi has worked extensively with both Alderson and current A’s executive vice president Billy Beane in the past and will bring more than three decades of scouting and player development experience to his new post if and when the organization makes the hiring official.
J.P. Ricciardi Leaves Mets Front Office
The Mets announced today that special assistant to the GM J.P. Ricciardi is leaving the organization. He had served in that capacity under Sandy Alderson and remained in his role, albeit briefly, after the club hired Brodie Van Wagenen to run the baseball operations department.
Per the announcement, it was a “mutually” arrived-upon decision. COO Jeff Wilpon thanked Ricciardi for his service, while the outgoing executive expressed good wishes in his own farewell statement. It had widely been expected that Ricciardi would move on, though he remained on hand to help bring Van Wagenen aboard while leaving the door open to an ongoing relationship.
As it turns out, it seems both sides felt the fit was no longer a good one. With the news, Ricciardi will wrap up an eight-year run in New York. It’s unclear as yet what’s next for the former Blue Jays GM. Meanwhile, the situation of Mets assistant GM John Ricco — who has been in the organization for an even longer time — has yet to be resolved conclusively.
Quick Hits: Mets, Rangers, Escobar, Trumbo
Some stray items from around the league…
- It isn’t yet known if assistant GM John Ricco or special assistant J.P. Ricciardi will remain with the Mets in the front office of new GM Brodie Van Wagenen, though MLB.com’s Anthony DiComo (Twitter link) reports that both Ricco and Ricciardi are expected to join Van Wagenen and Omar Minaya at the GM Meetings this week. The Mets reportedly want to retain both Ricco and Riccardi, though club COO Jeff Wilpon did say prior to Van Wagenen’s appointment that the new general manager would have hiring authority.
- Are Nomar Mazara and Jurickson Profar extension candidates or trade candidates for the Rangers? Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News feels the team should hold off on a Mazara deal at least for now, as Texas would be selling low on a former top prospect who has yet to really display that ability at the big league level (.258/.320/.425 with 60 homers over 1720 career PA, with just 1.5 fWAR over three seasons), plus Mazara is only entering his age-24 season and could still break out as a Rangers cornerstone. Profar was once seen as the best prospect in baseball, yet injuries have stalled his career, making it unlikely that the Rangers would invest in an extension for a player they still don’t know if they can count on as a long-term piece. By that same token, Profar probably doesn’t have a ton of trade value if Texas shops him around to rival teams.
- From that same piece, Grant argues that the Rangers should try to acquire a quality starting pitcher this winter as “seed money” towards a future contender. Grant feels Texas probably won’t be ready to contend until 2021, though since the Rangers have a huge need for pitching right now, the club could acquire a notable starter as something of a “relevancy tax” to help keep fan interest up, and then conceivably trade this pitcher for future assets later.
- With free agency upon us, Eduardo Escobar chose to sidestep the open market entirely by re-signing with the Diamondbacks on a three-year, $21MM contract. Multiple rival executives felt the deal was a good one for the D’Backs, The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal writes (subscription required), with one exec speculating that Escobar’s price tag could’ve reached as high as four years and $40MM. As Rosenthal noted, however, the market is crowded with several other infield options, and Escobar could have found himself forced to take the sort of below-market contract that many other free agents had to settle for last offseason. Since Escobar enjoyed his time in Arizona, Rosenthal wonders if other players could prioritize a good situation rather than take the risk of a protracted free agent stint.
- The Orioles will be open to moving any and all veterans as they rebuild, but it doesn’t seem likely that they’ll be able to deal Mark Trumbo this winter, MASNsports.com’s Roch Kubatko writes. Owed a hefty $13.5MM in 2019, Trumbo was already going to be a tough sell in trade talks, but his season-ending knee surgery at the end of August almost surely ruined his stock for any potential suitors. Trumbo’s surgery isn’t expected to limit him for the start of Spring Training, and the O’s will have to hope that he performs well in the first half of the 2019 season to potentially become a trade candidate by the deadline. Trumbo rebounded from a sub-replacement level season in 2017 to hit a solid .261/.313/.452 with 17 homers over 358 PA in 2018, though he’ll need to significantly top those solid numbers to increase his trade value, given his salary and defensive limitations.
Latest On Mets Front Office Transition
When the Mets announced the hiring of former agent Brodie Van Wagenen as their new general manager, it was apparent that his top lieutenants would be of particular importance. After all, this will be his first time working in, let alone leading, a baseball operations department.
For the moment, all that’s known for certain is that one notable figure — former Mets GM Omar Minaya — will remain on hand to assist Van Wagenen. Andy Martino of SNY.tv recently tweeted that Minaya, who re-joined the organization last year as a special assistant to the GM, would stay on in some capacity. Minaya’s specific role and job title aren’t yet known, but Mike Puma of the New York Post tweets that he will be a “top adviser” to Van Wagenen.
Two other top baseball executives, assistant GM John Ricco and special adviser J.P. Ricciardi, are still in limbo. However, the team has advised both that “they are wanted back,” as Puma puts it. Whether they’ll choose to stay with the team, and if so in what capacity, isn’t known. Puma noted recently (on Twitter) that Ricciardi “has multiple years remaining on his contract.” Neither has spoken personally on the matter.
In his most recent report, Martino does note that, while some turnover is expected, morale within the Mets front office was good yesterday, and there may be less turnover among lower-level staffers than originally expected. In the meantime, Van Wagenen is beginning to look around the league for potential assistant GM candidates. He will also look to expand the Mets analytics department, but as of right now no personnel decisions have been made.
Adding context to the Mets’ peculiar new situation, The Athletic’s Tim Britton explores how the specific responsibilities might shake out by speaking with three NBA GMs who made a similar transition – though none is a perfect analog for Van Wagenen. Still, the Mets’ new front office picture is beginning to take shape. In his introductory press conference yesterday, Van Wagenen made it crystal clear that the Mets will be looking to “win now.”
Meanwhile, yesterday was the final day of Sandy Alderson’s contract with the Mets, as Martino observes. The veteran baseball executive had remained at least loosely involved with the organization despite stepping down from daily GM duties owing to medical needs.
Now, Alderson is moving on as the team turns the position over to Van Wagenen. Fortunately, Martino writes, Alderson has a “good” prognosis in his cancer recovery. Whether or not he has any intention of aligning with another team isn’t clear, but Alderson does “plan[s] to continue to work in baseball in some capacity,” per the report.
The Mets’ GM Search
Not long after longtime general manager Sandy Alderson stepped down from his post with the Mets earlier this summer, it became clear that the organization would conduct an extensive search to tab a new head of baseball operations. Assistant GM John Ricco and special assistants J.P. Ricciardi and Omar Minaya have been overseeing the team’s baseball operations department on an interim basis, but the Mets are now formally in search of a new department leader.
There have been multiple reports that owner Fred Wilpon is eyeing a more traditional general manager with scouting-based acumen (an “old school” type of executive, to use a broad description), while his son, COO Jeff Wilpon, is more focused on hiring an analytically-inclined executive that more closely aligns with recent industry trends. Per Jon Heyman of Fancred, the Mets are leaving some candidates with the sense that the new hire won’t quite enjoy a full slate of baseball ops power. As he puts it, the impression is that Omar Minaya or one of the other existing assistant GMs could retain control over player development functions. Team sources that spoke with Heyman denied that was the case, however.
As we’ve done with some recent managerial searches, we’ll track the majority of the updates in the Mets’ GM search here as they navigate the early phases of the process.
Latest Update — 10/20
- Doug Melvin and agent Brodie Van Wagenen are the favorites to land the job, per Mike Puma of the New York Post.
- Ng and Bloom are still being considered for the position, per Puma.
- Littlefield, if not already eliminated, is considered a “long shot” at this juncture.
- Close and former Mets GM Omar Minaya can’t “completely be ruled out” at this time, per Puma and Joel Sherman.
Latest Update — 10/19
- It seems that agent Casey Close is also still in the mix. Martino tweets that he, Van Wagenen, Bloom, Ng, and Melvin appear to make up the finalists.
- LaRocque is no longer under consideration, Marc Carig of The Athletic reports (Twitter link).
- Agent Brodie Van Wagenen is still in the picture after receiving an initial interview, per Carig (via Twitter). (Carig initially tweeted the opposite, but amended his report.)
- The Mets only consider Littlefield a “fringe” contender to land the position, per Mike Puma of the New York Post.
- DiComo now tweets that Watson did not receive a call for a second interview and is no longer in the running for the position.
Earlier Updates — 10/19
- The Mets have interviewed six to eight candidates and will enter the second round of interviews next week, per MLB.com’s Anthony DiComo (Twitter link). Fred Wilpon will join the interview process in place of John Ricco for the second wave of sitdowns. DiComo notes that Littlefield, Bloom, LaRocque, Watson, Melvin and Ng are the six known candidates to date.
- It’s not fully clear whether all six to eight candidates who’ve interviewed are ticketed for a followup session, though. Andy Martino f SNY.tv writes that the Mets have not yet determined which of the first round interviewees will be spoken with next week. Interestingly, Puma tweets that the Mets plan to make each finalist available to the media after his or her second interview is completed, so it seems as though there’ll be some transparency in the latter stages of the process.
Mets Notes: GM Search, Callaway, Cespedes, Reyes
Speaking with reporters on Sunday, Mets COO Jeff Wilpon revealed that he and assistant general manager John Ricco will lead the initial round of interviews to find the team’s next GM (via Mike Puma of the New York Post). While the job still technically belongs to Sandy Alderson, it seems the leave of absence he took in June to battle cancer essentially ended his reign atop the team’s baseball department. Indeed, the Mets have known since June that they’d need a new GM, Tim Healey of Newsday was among those to tweet. None of Ricco or fellow assistants Omar Minaya and J.P. Ricciardi are candidates to succeed Alderson, Wilpon said (via Puma), though he hopes those three return. Whether that happens will be up to the team’s next baseball chief, however.
The Mets would like to hire a new general manager in time for the GM meetings in November, but that’s not a necessity, per Wilpon. He also revealed that the team will consider a president/GM or executive VP/GM power structure, James Wagner of the New York Times reports. On the role Alderson’s replacement will have in building the team, Wilpon said, “They will know that their final recommendation will go through me, but it’s not something where I am in the mix of picking the players.”
- It’s possible the Mets’ coaching staff will also see changes heading into next season. First-year manager Mickey Callaway said he expects his whole staff to return in 2019 (per Healey), but he may not be even be safe. Callaway’s fate “will depend on the new GM’s thoughts,” Wagner tweets. Wilpon did praise Callaway & Co. on Sunday, saying (via Healey): “Mickey and the staff did a nice job not letting anybody quit and keeping them moving forward, which was certainly something that could have happened. We saw it with other teams in our division, where they had a great first half and fell apart.” While crediting his own team’s coaches, Wilpon jabbed at the NL East rival Phillies, who collapsed in the second half of the season.
- Mets outfielder Yoenis Cespedes will undergo the second of two scheduled heel surgeries on Oct. 23, Tim Britton of The Athletic was among those to tweet. Cespedes expects to resume baseball activities roughly four months later, but he still won’t be able to run, Britton adds. The soon-to-be 33-year-old underwent his first heel surgery in late July, which ended his season and could keep him out for a sizable portion of 2019.
- Meanwhile, one of Cespedes’ teammates – infielder Jose Reyes – told reporters that Sunday’s game will be his last with the Mets, Wagner relays. The 35-year-old Reyes, a Met from 2003-11 and again since 2016, has managed a meager .583 OPS in 250 plate appearances this season. Reyes hasn’t decided on whether he’ll try to play again in 2019, but considering his output this year, he may not generate any interest as a free agent.
Mets GM Sandy Alderson Takes Leave Of Absence Following Cancer Recurrence
6:20pm: Asked whether he’d return should be again be declared cancer-free, Alderson offered a candid assessment of his recent work (link via MLB.com’s Anthony DiComo). “[I]f I were to look at it on the merits, I’m not sure coming back is warranted,” Alderson said, in a nod to his team’s 31-45 record. Joel Sherman of the New York Post, meanwhile, writes that while Alderson and COO Jeff Wilpon neglected to go further into the prospect of the future, Tuesday’s press conference “sound[ed] like a goodbye to the job.”
The Post’s Mike Puma tweets that in the interim, there’s an expectation that Ricco will serve as the de facto point man, with Minaya and Ricciardi serving as experienced advisers and sounding boards. It’s been reported on multiple occasions in the past that the organization views Ricco as something of an heir apparent to Alderson anyhow, and the coming months could serve as an audition of sorts for the longtime AGM.
3:12pm: Mets GM Sandy Alderson will take a leave of absence to address a recurrence of cancer, the organization announced. Tim Britton of The Athletic (Twitter links) was among those to cover the news.
Alderson, 70, previously took a leave of absence in December of 2015 owing to a cancer diagnosis. He was later able to resume his duties as the top baseball decisionmaker, a role he has held since the end of the 2010 season.
In Alderson’s absence, top lieutenants John Ricco, J.P. Ricciardi, and Omar Minaya will run the baseball operations department. That group brings decades of baseball operations experience to the table. Ricco has been an assistant GM with the Mets since 2006, while Minaya is a former Mets GM himself. Ricciardi, meanwhile, was once the general manager of the Blue Jays.
It is not known at this time how long Alderson will be away, but he says that he will likely undergo surgery later this summer. Fortunately, the veteran executive says that the prognosis is good. MLBTR joins those around the game in sending its best wishes for a rapid and full recovery.
NL East Links: Kaneko, Cuddyer, Ricciardi, Braves
Japanese right-hander Chihiro Kaneko is visiting the United States to get a first-hand look at the atmosphere of Major League Baseball by visiting the World Series, according to Yahoo Sports Japan (Japanese link). The 31-year-old Kaneko is the ace of Nippon Professional Baseball’s Orix Buffaloes and is eligible to be posted this offseason, if his team agrees to post him (and, if he expresses a desire to jump to MLB). Kaneko has been scouted personally by Phillies GM Ruben Amaro Jr. in September as well as the Red Sox and Padres, according to the Yahoo report. In 184 innings this season, Kaneko posted a sparkling 1.91 ERA with 9.5 K/9 and 2.0 BB/9, allowing a minuscule seven homers in an excellent season. In parts of nine pro seasons, Kaneko has a 2.69 ERA with 8.0 K/9, 2.1 BB/9 and 0.6 HR/9 in 1279 1/3 innings.
Here’s more pertaining to the National League East…
- Some familiar with the Mets‘ thinking believe that the team would be interested in adding Michael Cuddyer on a two-year deal, reports Andy Martino of the New York Daily News. The Mets are known to be hesitant to deal from their crop of high-upside young arms, and Cuddyer would provide them with a fairly versatile piece that can add some punch to the lineup. Martino also notes that the Mets are monitoring Yoenis Cespedes and consider Rafael Montero more tradeable than Noah Syndergaard or Jacob deGrom. For what it’s worth, Cuddyer grew up in the same town as David Wright and the two have long been friends and offseason workout partners. MLBTR’s Zach Links recently profiled Cuddyer and projected a two-year, $22MM contract.
- More from Martino, who wrote yesterday that the Mets could be nearing an extension with assistant GM J.P. Ricciardi. The former Blue Jays GM has been with the Mets since 2010 and currently oversees the club’s pro scouting operations while also serving as an adviser to GM Sandy Alderson.
- There’s been a great deal of speculation that Evan Gattis could be trade bait this winter, but MLB.com’s Mark Bowman takes a long look at whether or not the Braves should entertain offers for Justin Upton and/or Jason Heyward as well. Each corner outfielder is set to become a free agent next winter. Moving one would allow the team to keep Gattis and play him in the outfield, although as Bowman notes, that would significantly weaken the club’s defense. Still, with each dangerously close to the open market, the front office could move one for a group of prospects that would further position the team for success as it heads into a new stadium in 2017, Bowman writes.