By John Sheridan
At the moment, the only known candidate for the Mets managerial job with previous Major League experience in that role is Joe Girardi. With Girardi set to interview with the Mets after an eight-hour interview with the Chicago Cubs and his upcoming interview for the Philadelphia Phillies’ job, the question is whether the Mets and Girardi can find some common ground.
As noted by Mike Puma of the New York Post, Brodie Van Wagenen and the Mets front office “has a strong hand in formulating the daily lineup and deciding on roles for players,” and that could run into conflict with how Girardi had grown accustomed to running his Marlins and Yankees teams.
As may have been evident from his covering Mets games and taking this interview, Girardi has strong interest in the Mets job, and according to Puma, that leaves the Mets with leverage. In the end, according to a source, “Joe wants the job badly enough that it won’t be bothersome and he’s going to figure out how to get along and everything else. I don’t see that being an issue.”
Overall, Girardi is the most qualified candidate the Mets are interviewing with many believing the is exactly the guy the Mets need to hire to take them over the top. In fact, Puma reported a baseball official said of Girardi, he is “really good as far as organization and running a bullpen and squeezing the best out of a team. You are going to win or at least be in the wild-card hunt.”
For a Mets team looking to compete in 2020, they may very well need a manager like Girardi. As noted by Puma and his sources, the question is whether there can be some common ground where the front office can cede enough control and offer enough money to bring Girardi aboard as the team’s next manager.
