Unlike fans of other teams, the Mets faithful have been lucky enough to have a managerial and coaching search help them through an otherwise stagnant news cycle since the MLB lockout began last month.
The first Thursday of January happened to be even busier in Mets land with notable news coming out across many different spectrums, so let’s jump right into it.
Zack Scott Acquitted on DWI Charge
Former Mets acting GM Zack Scott had his original court date postponed following testing positive for COVID-19, but he was in court on Thursday, and was acquitted of the DWI charge and another lesser charge reports Anthony Rieber of Newsday. Scott was arrested last August after he attended a fundraiser at team owner Steve Cohen’s house. Scott will was given two tickets and will pay a S100 fine for each.
The Mets dismissed Scott from the organization in November.
Grandy Passes on Mets Offer
Former Mets outfielder Curtis Granderson was approached by the Mets about a potential position on the coaching staff, though he ultimately decided to politely decline per Andy Martino of SNY.
Granderson was also known to be on the Mets wide-ranging list of folks they discussed as potential fits for manager before they hired veteran skipper Buck Showalter.
TC Still Helping Out
Martino also notes that Mets’ new third base coach Joey Cora was recommended to the front office by former Mets’ manager Terry Collins. Collins spent a few years as a special advisor following his firing as the Mets manager, though he didn’t officially hold that role during the 2021 season.
Cora will serve as the the third base coach with Wayne Kirby at first base and Eric Chavez as the hitting coach.
No Soto Quite Yet
Last week it was reported that Juan Soto‘s younger brother Elian is expected to sign with the Mets as an international free agent. Anthony DiComo of MLB reports that Soto is not eligible to sign until the 2023 signing period.
It should be noted that DiComo isn’t saying that the signing won’t happen, just that it can’t take place during the signing period that starts next week. Keep in mind that a lot of these IFA deals are agreed upon years in advance. For example, we already knew early in 2021 that the top prospect the Mets were going to sign during the 2022 period was outfielder Simon Juan.
