Brewers’ President of Baseball Operations Doug Melvin had his second interview for the Mets’ general managerial opening on Tuesday, and this time CEO Fred Wilpon and numerous other executives were present for the meeting.
Melvin, 66, hasn’t been a general manager since he stepped down in Milwaukee in 2015, after which he said the job was “best suited for a younger person.”
When asked about the quote, Melvin said that was how he felt at the time, but he feels “a whole lot different” now, hence why he has entered the hunt to regain the general manager title.
Melvin claims that the early 2010s Brewers were one of the early teams to go in on the shift, and he “considered” using a reliever as a starter since as early as 2010. But when asked about the analytics department if he became GM of the Mets, Melvin said he would like to grow it, “staff it up”, which the Mets desperately need to do.
“It can probably be improved upon and staffed up,” he said.
Melvin also said that he believes Mickey Callaway “deserves a chance to do this again.” While he doesn’t know Callaway personally, he believes he’s a great baseball mind and baseball guy.
Additionally, Melvin also said he thinks that he would have the “authority to make the decision that I thought was in the best interest of the organization” on all baseball related matters, hinting that he believes he would have final say in certain decisions, not ownership.
Brodie Van Wagenen interviewed for the second time yesterday, Chaim Bloom is set to receive his second interview tomorrow, and then the interview process will be completed and the Mets will make a decision on the next general manager.
The hope remains that the Mets will have their new general manager in place by the General Manager Meetings in early November.
Reports suggest that the Mets haven’t closed the door to hiring two of the interviewees, one as general manager and one to a president of baseball operations type role, but the chances of that happening are said to be slim.
