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Latest On Mets Search For A General Manager

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Another couple of names have been withdrawn from the Mets’ search for a new general manager. Sig Mejdal is now out of the running, per Andy Martino of SNY (via Twitter). Mejdal is an assistant general manager and vice president with the Orioles who came to Baltimore from Houston with Mike Elias. Mejdal’s strength is analytics, and he’ll continue to ply that trade to build towards a better future in Baltimore.

Red Sox assistant GM and vice president Raquel Ferreira pulled her name from the running as well after having discussions with Mets official this past week, per Alex Speier of the Boston Globe. Ferreria’s name has been bandied about as a potential GM candidate around the league after 23 years in Boston.

Given how the last year has gone for Mets’ front office officials, it’s no surprise that Ferreira would pull her name from consideration. The organization’s culture has been repeatedly called into question, as has the autonomy of whoever takes over as GM, given Alderson’s continued presence in the organization.

Frankly, given the short tenures of Alderson’s first two hires as GM, it’s a touch surprising that he’s being given a third crack at this particular egg in the same calendar year. On the other hand, setting up the Mets front office for the future is the exact job that he was hired to do, and as of now, that task is incomplete.

Latest On Mets’ Front Office Targets

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The list of names connected to the Mets’ front office continues growing with each passing day. The newest addition is former Angels’ general manager Billy Eppler, as Andy Martino of SNY reports that the Mets “have interest” in Eppler, though he has not yet been interviewed for the position.

Eppler has around 20 years of organizational experience at this point in his career, having been hired by the Rockies as a scout in the year 2000. He moved over to the Yankees in 2004, eventually getting promoted to the director of the scouting department, and then to assistant general manager prior to the 2012 season. He became the Angels’ general manager prior to the 2016 season and stayed in that role until being fired in September of 2020. Two months ago, it was revealed that Eppler had joined the William Morris Endeavor agency as a business partner. Given that Eppler is not currently employed by a rival club, he could seemingly avoid the typical song and dance that the Mets have had to go through with many other candidates, asking the club for permission for an interview and often being denied. At this point, it’s not clear if the Mets’ interest is reciprocated from Eppler’s side or if he’s committed to a new role on the other side of the bargaining table.

It was recently reported that the Red Sox were going to give assistant GM Raquel Ferreira permission to speak with the Mets, and it now seems a conversation is imminent. A report in the New York Post from Ken Davidoff, Joel Sherman and Mike Puma says that Ferreira and Mets’ officials will be speaking in the coming days, although it may not exactly be a formal interview. “It’s believed that the talk will be more of a ’Get to know you’ session,” says the article, “in which both sides will determine whether they want to take this idea any further.” However, Jon Heyman of MLB Network does use the word “interview” in a tweet about the matter. Regardless of semantics, it seems that Ferreira’s process is further along than many other executives, who have either been denied permission to speak with the Mets or quickly turned down their advances.

That same article also confirms previous reporting that the Mets are interested in Orioles’ assistant GM Sig Mejdal, although it’s not known if the Orioles will allow the Mets to interview him and, as the piece states, “There is uncertainty within the industry whether Mejdal wants to run a baseball operations department.”

Elsewhere in the Mets’ organization, they also have a vacancy at the manager level, and Heyman reports that they spoke with Bob Melvin before he made the leap from Oakland to San Diego, but that his preference for remaining on the West Coast kept talks from coming to fruition. There were no rumors of Melvin leaving Oakland before it was announced that he had been hired by the Padres, but it appears it that at least a few teams knew he was available and were discussing things behind the scenes.

Latest On Mets’ Front Office Search

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NOVEMBER 1: The Red Sox are expected to grant Ferreira permission to interview with the Mets, assuming she’s interested in doing so, reports Jon Heyman of the MLB Network (on Twitter).

OCTOBER 30, 1:23PM: Brewers VP of baseball operations Matt Kleine is another candidate the Mets have discussed, as per Martino (Twitter link).  With both Kleine and Rodriguez, however, the Mets are wary about approaching the Brewers and Rays since both teams have repeatedly denied New York’s requests to interview other front office personnel in the past.  Kleine is believed to be interested, and his hiring could help set the stage for the Mets to land Stearns as a free agent a year from now (or after the 2023 season, depending on the reported vesting option in Stearns’ deal with Milwaukee).

OCTOBER 30, 8:05AM: The Mets’ attempts to hire a new president of baseball operations or general manager has hit its share of roadblocks, and Dodgers assistant GM Jeff Kingston is the latest executive to decline an interview with the team, according to The New York Post’s Mike Puma.  However, several other prospective candidates remain, as it seems as though the Mets now could be specifically looking for a general manager, rather than someone to fully take the entire reigns of the baseball ops department.

To this end, Puma writes Rays VP of player development Carlos Rodriguez, and assistant GMs Daniel Adler (Twins), Randy Flores (Cardinals), and Ben Sestanovich (Braves) are all “on the Mets’ radar” as possible candidates.  The Mets have also asked the Red Sox for permission to speak with assistant GM Raquel Ferreira, SNY’s Andy Martino reports.

Any of these five executives would be a first-time GM, and ostensibly in charge of the baseball operations department even without the official “president” label.  The unusual nature of the Mets’ front office dynamic has led to some questions about how much authority a new GM would have, as team president Sandy Alderson is remaining with the club and has said he’ll be shifting over to focusing on the team’s business matters once a new baseball ops head is in place.

Had Mets owner Steve Cohen been successful in luring one of his big-ticket initial targets (i.e. Billy Beane, Theo Epstein, David Stearns) to New York, it would’ve made for a smoother transition, as any of those execs would’ve been the PBO and had the sway to make their own choice for a general manager to act as their chief lieutenant.  However, it is perhaps understandable why Kingston and others have opted out of what could be considered as something of a glorified one-year trial period.  If the Mets play well in 2022, a newly-hired GM could be entrusted to become the president of baseball operations; if the Mets struggle, Cohen could resume his search for a major name as PBO, leaving the general manager as perhaps something of a lame duck.

Cardinals GM Michael Girsch, Giants GM Scott Harris, newly-promoted Brewers GM Matt Arnold, and another Dodgers assistant in Brandon Gomes have all declined to be considered for the Mets’ job.  For the five names mentioned by Puma and Martino, it is possible any of the Rays, Twins, Cardinals, Braves, or Red Sox could deny New York permission to interview their personnel, though teams usually don’t stand in the way of their executives being offered a promotion.

Kingston technically has experience as a general manager, as he served as the Mariners’ interim GM for the last month-plus of the 2015 season after Jack Zduriencik was fired.  Kingston has worked as an assistant GM for the last six seasons (three with the Mariners, three with the Dodgers) and he has been considered for other front office openings in recent years.  The Phillies and Angels each had interest in Kingston for their most recent GM vacancies, and Kingston was a finalist for the Angels’ position before the team hired Perry Minasian.

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