Although the 2021 Major League Baseball regular season concludes on Sunday evening, one of the biggest offseason moves for the Mets is only just beginning to take shape.
According to Jon Heyman of MLB Network, the Mets will “soon” reach out to Theo Epstein about the team’s president of baseball operations role. Outside of improving the actual roster, adding a proven, well-known name to take on this vital front office role will be one of owner Steve Cohen’s top priorities this fall and winter.
Epstein, the former Red Sox and Cubs front office executive, worked for Major League Baseball in 2021 as a consultant. One of the most successful front office personnel of baseball’s 21st century, he was responsible for two world championships in Boston and one with the Cubs. Most notably, he was at the helm of breaking both “The Curse of the Bambino” and “The Curse of the Billy Goat.”
The Mets are believed to have interest in Billy Beane, former general manager and current executive vice president of the Oakland Athletics, as well, though they can’t request to interview him until after the season completes on Sunday.
Beane has a well-known connection to the Mets franchise. Drafted by the Mets as a highly touted prospect in 1980, he never lived up to lofty expectations and was done as a player by 1990.
Since the 1990s, Beane has been with the Athletics organization and has been one of the league’s most highly regarded executives, despite him still searching for his first World Series appearance. In 2002, his A’s were the story of the baseball world when they put together an incredible 20-game winning streak, before falling short in the ALDS.
The Mets reportedly will also reach out to David Stearns, who has worked in Milwaukee Brewers front office since late 2015, originally holding the role of general manager and now serving as the team’s president of baseball operations. The New York-native worked for the Mets organization for a brief time following graduation from Harvard University. He is still just 36 years young and has already put together an incredibly impressive resume, including presiding over a 2018 Brewers team that reached the NLCS.
The Brewers will be in the playoffs through at least the League Division series, so they will have to wait until their playoff run is over to speak to Stearns, if an interview request is granted at all. The Brewers denied a Mets interview request for Stearns last offseason when they were looking for a president of baseball operations.
