One candidate was crossed off the list and another, more outside the box choice was added to the New York Mets’ search to fill their vacant general manager position on Wednesday morning.
Per SNY, Tampa Bay Rays special assistant Bobby Heck “is not a candidate for a front-office position with the Mets”, quelling previous rumors linking the two.
In an unexpected twist, the Mets have reportedly expanded their search to a former cerebral player and current MLB executive, Chris Young, who has interviewed with the team, per Mike Puma of the New York Post.
Young, 41, is a Princeton University graduate and spent 13 seasons in the majors with five different teams (79-67, 3.95 ERA), including a 24-start stretch with the Mets in 2011 and 2012 (3.76 ERA).
Shortly after retiring in 2018, Young began his tenure of employment with Major League Baseball, being hired as the league’s vice president of on-field operations, initiatives, and strategy before being promoted to senior vice president, replacing longtime MLB fixture Joe Torre and the league’s umpiring, on-field, and umpiring czar in February of this year.
Earlier this week, Mets president Sandy Alderson announced the team would forgo hiring a president of baseball operations this offseason, as initially planned. Instead, the team would be focusing on filling the vacant GM position.
Per Alderson on Monday, the team had already interviewed a “half-dozen” candidates. Whether Young was included in that earlier count is unknown.
Alderson also intimated the organization’s preference to “find someone […] who is capable of growing into the [president of baseball operations] role”. Whether the Mets feel Young fits that bill is also yet to be determined.
We’ll keep you posted with new developments as they become available.
