Zack Scott

TODAY: Porter and Scott seem to be the two favorites for the job, as per Mike Puma of the New York Post (Twitter link).  Also from Puma, J.P. Ricciardi is the other unknown finalist for the GM job.

DECEMBER 11, 8:13pm: The Mets are actually still considering other candidates in addition to Scott, Porter, Owens and Hill, Tim Healey of Newsday reports.

7:52pm: Scott, Porter, Owens and Hill are indeed the Mets’ GM finalists, Joel Sherman of the New York Post tweets. They have all interviewed for the position, according to Anthony DiComo of MLB.com.

5:20pm: Led by the newly minted duo of owner Steve Cohen and team president Sandy Alderson, the Mets are off to an active start this offseason. They’ve already signed reliever Trevor May to a two-year, $15.5MM contract, and they seem to be the front-runners to add catcher James McCann. They’re also surely moving to acquire other players. The Mets have done all their work in recent weeks without a general manager, but that might not be the case for much longer. The club could hire someone as early as next week, Jon Heyman of MLB Network reports.

It’s “likely” the Mets will choose Red Sox assistant general manager Zack Scott, Diamondbacks assistant GM Jared Porter, Athletics AGM Billy Owens or former Marlins president of baseball operations Michael Hill to become their new GM, according to Heyman. Hill interviewed for the position in the first half of November, but it’s unclear if the Mets have spoken with him again since then. It’s also unknown if (or how many times) they have talked to the other candidates.

Hill’s vast experience as the leader of a front office could give him the leg up in New York, as Cohen said when he took over the franchise last month, “I’m not crazy about people learning on my dime” (via Lou DiPietro of WFAN). That said, Scott, Porter and Owens have plenty of experience in their own right. Scott has been with the Red Sox in various roles since 2004; Porter also started in Boston in 2004, and he has since been a key part of two other front offices (Cubs, D-backs); and Owens has held multiple roles with the A’s since the late 1990s. Owens even worked with lderson for a couple of years when the latter was in Oakland’s front office.