Jon Heyman of FanCred Sports reports that New York Mets assistant general manager John Ricco has two of his former bosses, one who hired him and another who made him his de facto number-two, in his corner as the team looks to name a new GM before next season.
Ricco joined the Mets in 2004 after working in the MLB Commissioner’s Office under Bud Selig. He became the team’s assistant general manager under Omar Minaya in 2006 and was briefly the Mets’ interim GM before Sandy Alderson was hired in 2010.
Alderson stepped down in June due to a cancer recurrence and the team named Ricco, Minaya, and special assistant to the GM J.P. Ricciardi as co-general managers, with all three reporting to COO Jeff Wilpon for final approval.
Heyman reports that there was a “disconnect between Mets ownership and Alderson by the end (of his tenure)”, and since Alderson was recommending Ricco, there’s a chance they will rebuff his suggestions.
As reported on earlier this month, the Mets have checked in on Blue Jays VP of baseball operations and former Red Sox general manager, Ben Cherington.
Heyman notes in today’s article that Cherington and Minaya have a “close” relationship and that there’s a “good chance the team goes outside of the organization” for their next GM hire.
