David Stearns

Prospective Mets owner Steve Cohen announced on Thursday that, should he be approved by the other Major League Baseball owners sometime in the near future, he will be hiring Sandy Alderson as president of the club. Alderson was the Mets’ general manager between 2010 and 2018, leading them to a pennant in 2015 before stepping down in 2018 due to a battle with cancer.

Many current Mets such as Michael Conforto, Dominic Smith, Pete Alonso, and Brandon Nimmo were drafted under Alderson’s regime.

Alderson’s return to the organization is great news on two fronts. Firstly, it means Alderson, 73, is healthy enough for an everyday job in a front office again. Secondly, he is a very smart man and knows how to competently build a winning team. However, in this scenario he would not be directly in charge of building the team; that is the GM’s job. The Mets’ current GM is Brodie Van Wagenen, but many in the industry have speculated that Cohen could be kicking Van Wagenen to the curb as soon as he takes over official control.

There has been lots of speculation already about the kinds of names that Cohen could lure to Queens to be the new GM. Huge names like Theo Epstein and Brian Cashman have been among them. However, don’t expect a dream scenario like this. First of all, Cashman is not going anywhere. He has been with the Yankees for over two decades and has time left on his current contract. There is nothing Cohen could give him that he doesn’t have in the Bronx. In Epstein’s case, he is currently the Cubs’ president. Accepting a job elsewhere as a GM would be a demotion for him. He has no incentive to take that role.

So let’s talk about some realistic GM options for Steve Cohen and Sandy Alderson.

David Stearns – Brewers President of Baseball Operations and General Manager

On paper, there is absolutely no candidate more perfect for the role than David Stearns. Stearns is a Harvard graduate originally from Manhattan. He grew up a Mets fan and even spent the 2008 season interning in the organization under Omar Minaya’s regime. Rumor has it that Minaya pleaded with Jeff and Fred Wilpon to open up a full-time baseball operations job for Stearns once he completed his internship, but they turned down Minaya. Instead, Stearns quickly rose through the ranks as a member of the Indians’ front office, then as an assistant GM with the Astros, before finally being named the Brewers’ GM in 2015 at age 30.

At 35, Stearns is still one of the youngest GMs in the sport, in addition to being one of the best. He orchestrated the Christian Yelich trade, among other moves integral to the Brewers’ recent success. He leads one of the smartest organizations in baseball, thanks in no small part to his involvement.

With ties to the Mets and plenty of youth on his side, Stearns seems like the perfect fit. However, as I mentioned with Epstein and Neander, the snag with Stearns is that he is already a step ahead of the GM job. The Brewers promoted him to president of baseball operations in early 2019, so it would be difficult to claw him back into just a GM role. The reason, however, that he is on this list whereas someone like Epstein isn’t is that Stearns is still just 35 and has those ties to the Mets. With some reasoning from Alderson and Minaya, and a raise from Cohen, Stearns could be persuaded to interview for the spot. If he is not interested in the job, keep an eye on his right-hand man…

Matt Arnold – Brewers Senior Vice President and Assistant GM

If the Mets miss out of Stearns, they could do a lot worse than Arnold. One of Stearns’ first moves was bringing Arnold in after nine seasons as a key cog in the Tampa Bay Rays’ hyper-analytical machine. With the Rays, he worked directly under Andrew Friedman, who has since moved on to lead the Dodgers’ heavyweight front office.

At 40, Arnold is still plenty young enough for Alderson to groom as his successor as team president. Yet, he has nearly two decades in big league front offices, with experience in scouting and in analytics as well. He’s essentially done everything in a front office except be a GM. Arnold was also among the finalists for the Pirates’ GM job in 2019 that Ben Cherington eventually won. It seems like Arnold is on the precipice of a GM job somewhere. It would make a lot of sense to see the Mets interested in him.

Billy Owens – Athletics Assistant GM and Director of Player Personnel

Not all that long ago, Billy Owens was said to be an outright favorite for an open GM vacancy across the bay in San Francisco. Now, he will almost certainly get a look from the Mets. Owens has spent 19 seasons in the A’s front office, the first 12 of those coming as director of player personnel. Starting in 1999, Owens was a minor league hitting coach for five seasons.

His coaching and scouting experience helped him in regards to player development, which is believed to be one of his strongest skills. Sandy Alderson has also spent the last year as a senior advisor to the A’s, meaning he has almost certainly worked with Owens in some fashion. Owens, 49, is one of a few minority candidates across the league and is highly respected across the game.

Jared Porter – Diamondbacks Senior Vice President and Assistant GM

Jared Porter is another name, like Arnold, that seems to be on the fast track to becoming a GM sometime soon. Porter actually mirrors Arnold in some respects, namely in that he is the right-hand man to one of the youngest and brightest GMs in the sport. Mike Hazen deserves praise for his work with the Diamondbacks, and there is every chance he could be considered for the Mets’ job too.

However, it seems more likely that Porter could be considered. Porter worked for the Red Sox from 2004 until 2015 before spending two seasons in Theo Epstein’s regime with the Cubs. That means he has been part of four championship teams as an executive despite just being 40. Under Hazen, Porter oversees all aspects of baseball operations. His colleague Amiel Sawdeye, who followed him from Boston to Phoenix and is also an assistant GM for the Dbacks could also be a name to watch.

Mike Chernoff – Indians General Manager

Mike Chernoff, much like David Stearns is a local kid from a great school. He grew up in northern New Jersey and played baseball at Princeton before interning with the Indians. That internship turned into a full-time job with the Tribe. By the end of 2010, he had been promoted to assistant GM under Chris Antonetti, and took over as GM in 2015 when Antonetti was promoted to president of baseball operations. Chernoff was tied to the Mets’ GM opening in 2018, but reportedly turned down an interview despite the Mets holding interest. A change in ownership certainly makes the Mets’ job more desirable, so perhaps he would have a change of heart this time.

Jason Paré – Braves Assistant GM, Research and Development

Jason Paré is likely the least well-known name on this list. However, there is a good chance that changes in the next few years. He is known most for being one of the most analytically savvy minds across all of baseball. The Braves scooped up the 35-year-old from the Marlins in late 2017.

Paré previously interned under Farhan Zaidi in Oakland before moving onto Cleveland, then to Toronto, then getting a chance to build his own analytics department in Miami in 2015. Alex Anthopoulos tasked him with revamping the Braves analytics department when he was hired, and he’s done a very good job. Paré might seem like an out-of-the-box GM pick right now, but his work in numerous analytics departments speaks for itself.

Others to Watch

Paul DePodesta – DePodesta was one of Alderson’s first hires in 2010, and was with the Mets until the Cleveland Browns of the NFL hired him away as a chief strategy officer. Before switching to football, DePodesta was long considered one of the smartest minds in baseball and has a unique level of familiarity with Alderson, having served under him in both San Diego with the Padres and with the Mets. He served as the GM of the Dodgers between 2004 and 2005.

J.P. Ricciardi – Ricciardi spent eight years as a special advisor for the Mets under Alderson, before parting ways with the organization when Van Wagenen took over. He was the GM of the Blue Jays between 2001 and 2009.

Kim Ng – It seems that Ng is on the shortlist for any available GM job. She has thrice been an assistant GM (White Sox, Yankees, Dodgers) and since 2011 has worked as the Senior VP of Baseball Operations in the Commissioner’s Office. She has interviewed for open GM jobs with the Dodgers, Mariners, Padres, Angels, and Giants. She would be the first woman to hold the position of GM in any of the four major North American sports leagues.

Bobby Heck – Heck served as scouting director for the Astros between 2007 and 2012 before moving into a role as a special assistant to the GM with the Rays. He’s well-regarded around the game, especially for his scouting and developing skills. He was loosely linked to the Mets’ open GM job in 2018.