by Jack Hendon
With Mickey Callaway‘s dismissal yesterday making headlines throughout baseball, the Mets’ needs this offseason now officially include a legitimate successor for manager. Bench coach Jim Riggleman will also need to be replaced, as the organization announced his ouster just two hours later, and the fate of the rest of the coaching staff remains unclear.
Nonetheless, speculation has started to surface over who New York could appoint to the helm ahead of what expects to be a critical 2020 season. In the team’s press conference following the announcement, general manager Brodie Van Wagenen stated that the team would consider managers with experience at the big-league and minor-league levels, while also citing the notorious “outside the box” ideas as well. Van Wagenen added that the characteristics of the next Mets skipper would likely “build off of some of those that Mickey had. We’re looking for strong leadership… a voice that can keep this team unified and accelerate our path here.”
As names inevitably come to the forefront and interviews are eventually conducted, there are a handful of options – some more widely speculated than others – who could profile interestingly. Between experience in the league and/or experience within the organization, there are various routes Van Wagenen can take in picking his own manager, some of whom have brighter forecasts with this current roster than others. Let’s assess some of the possible candidates:
Guys We’ve Heard About
Even prior to the Mets’ decision to officially turn Callaway loose, Joe Girardi had been cited by various sources – most notably SNY – as a potential suitor for the manager role once the possibility presented itself. Girardi himself has even expressed a desire to return to managing in New York, as Dan Martin of the New York Post wrote in July. The organization, as Andy Martino writes, had done its background research on the former Yankees skipper as early as the summer, and despite concerns over some of his more tense relationships within the Bronx clubhouse, the Mets remain intrigued given his experience in New York.
A three-time World Series champion (twice as a catcher in 1996 and 1998 and once as manager in 2009) and former NL Manager of the Year (in 2006 with the Marlins, no less), Girardi owns a lifetime 988-794 record over 11 seasons, and has made the playoffs six times. Both MLB.com‘s Anthony DiComo and USA Today‘s Bob Nightengale have pointed to Girardi as a candidate high on the Mets’ otherwise nondescript list, and going strictly by results, it certainly makes intuitive sense.
One option that carries more sentimental value, but still has merits exclusive to baseball is former Met great and future Hall of Famer Carlos Beltran. Now 42 years of age, Beltran left Queens on a sour note in a 2011 trade that followed some unsavory comments by owner Fred Wilpon (which had in itself followed Beltran’s decision to undergo knee surgery against the team’s advice in January of 2010 – a move that likely prolonged his career), and would likely call for some “relationship mending” (as noted by DiComo). Martino, meanwhile, reports that there is “no chance” the five-time All-Star manages the Mets (or any team) in 2020.
No corroborating reports have emerged regarding Beltran’s plans, but for all intents and purposes, hiring Beltran would reflect positively for an organization that has in many respects gotten younger across the past year. Having immediately interviewed for the Yankees’ opening in 2018 following his retirement, he’s certainly garnered enough respect over the course of his career from players and coaches alike, and he’s only continued building relationships as a special advisor to Brian Cashman.
As recently as Friday evening, Dusty Baker has also had his name mentioned among possible candidates whom the Mets could look to take a chance on (according to Kevin Kernan of the New York Post). As the case seems to be with Girardi, team officials have had internal discussions about reaching out to Baker, who has an equally impressive track record with teams during the regular season. The postseason results have not been as pretty, as he hasn’t come out on top of a division series since 2003.
The 70-year old Baker has often been criticized for an old-school approach, most so when it comes to his liberal use of starting pitchers, though he remains one of the game’s more esteemed figures for his enduring qualities as a player’s manager, and he’s amassed 90 wins in each of his last four seasons managing between the Nationals and Cincinnati Reds.
In-house options aren’t as clear-cut, but one name that has come up are big-league quality control coach Luis Rojas. Rojas, who at 38 has climbed coaching ranks within the organization across 12 years, worked most recently as an outfield instructor early in the spring, a job that paid off with the nearly-seamless transition of Jeff McNeil.
All told, his credibility runs far deeper than his work at the major-league level in 2019: officials within the organization already viewed Rojas as a “future big-league manager” coming into the season, and while his work relaying analytical info to Callaway during the season has been beneficial, the relationships he’s built with two of the organization’s centerpieces in McNeil and Pete Alonso also helps his case. DiComo first offered Rojas (the son of Felipe Alou, mind you) as a possible candidate, emphasizing how highly the team regards him.
Joe McEwing has entered the discussion in a similar fashion as well, with Mike Puma of the New York Post pointing towards his relationship with one-time Mets teammate and current special assistant David Wright as a benefactor. McEwing apparently made a strong impression on Jeff Wilpon when he interviewed for the same position back in 2017, and has served on the White Sox coaching staff for eight years (third base from 2012-16, bench coach since 2017). He revealed bits and pieces of his outlook as a coach in a 2013 interview with FanGraphs, emphasizing open communication with players and conceding a willingness to incorporate analytics where needed, though he has also bemoaned movements away from less successful offensive strategies like bunting while advocating against the defensive shift.
Joe Espada has also been linked to discussions dating back to late-September, per Buster Olney of ESPN. Espada has made his way into field duties since the Yankees promoted him from a front office advisory role in 2015. Espada has been assisting AJ Hinch as a bench coach with the Astros the past two seasons, and is similarly being considered to fill the Cubs’ vacancy.
Experienced Names On the Market
Among the more recently available options, Joe Maddon is the latest to have won a ring, having led the Chicago Cubs to their first world championship since 1908 as they capped off an arduous five-year rebuild. A three-time recipient of the Manager of the Year award (twice with the Tampa Bay Rays and once following his 2015 debut in Chicago), he has been managing full-time since 2006 and owns a 1225-1044 record in that time. DiComo opines that a hiring of Maddon is “unlikely,” though it would make little sense for the Mets to decline even reaching out, if they haven’t already.
Considering he made $6MM this past year (a figure over double Callaway’s total pay of $2.85MM through his three-year contract), the 65-year old Maddon would likely be the most expensive option. It could potentially take a higher price for the Mets to woo him away from the Angels – whom he coached for the better part of three decades and could likely wind up managing off the heels of their firing Brad Ausmus.
Speaking of which, Ausmus, though not nearly as experienced as a coach, has decades behind the plate in the majors to his name, though his exit following one year with the Los Angeles Angels doesn’t exactly read well. He guided the Detroit Tigers to a division title in his rookie season in 2014, but hasn’t seen a playoff game since, and has finished above .500 just once in the five years since. He had been an apparent candidate to follow Terry Collins in the 2017 offseason, but reportedly denied the Mets an interview.
Another former catcher who, for the moment, remains a less prominent name in rumors is one-time Cardinals skipper Mike Matheny, who has been out of the dugout since his much-discussed firing in the summer of 2018. Once a pennant-winner just two years removed from inheriting a legacy left by Hall of Famer Tony La Russa, Matheny’s fall from grace in St. Louis is one the Mets would be wise to bear in mind should they pursue hiring him. From awkwardly stonewalling Dexter Fowler to condoning a bullpen bullying ring spearheaded by Bud Norris to overseeing one of the worst defensive squads in franchise history, Matheny redefined the term “losing the clubhouse,” exiting as the team sat 11 games below .500. Fortunately for him, he’s preserved some dignity as a special advisor in Kansas City, and has already been cited as a contender for their managerial opening.
Perhaps the most attractive of old-school options is Buck Showalter, who is a year removed from a nine-year excursion with the Baltimore Orioles. The 63-year old Showalter managed Baltimore to three separate playoff appearances in 2012, 2014, and 2016, finishing below .500 in just the latter two of his eight full seasons. He has 20 years under his belt as a manager with the Yankees, Diamondbacks, and Rangers prior to the Orioles. He is a known opponent to the launch-angle hitting approach, and has staunchly contested analytical methods in interviews past, but he has gotten off without much player controversy, and may be one of the better-respected traditionalists available.
Bob Geren is currently enjoying his fifth straight year as a bench coach on a postseason team, his fourth with Dave Roberts and the Los Angeles Dodgers. Of course, many Met fans likely may remember Geren’s role on the pennant-winning group from 2015. Though he hasn’t managed at the major league level since 2011 and hasn’t explicitly expressed a desire to come back to New York in an expanded role, Geren has certainly made a name for himself as a trusted advisor in a competitive clubhouse, and is already being considered to replace Bruce Bochy in San Francisco (credit to Jon Heyman of MLB Network). He could certainly profile well – perhaps even better as a familiar face – for Callaway’s position.
Current Triple-A manager Tony DeFrancesco also could wind up being interviewed, if the Mets cast a wide enough net around internal options. DeFrancesco, 56, has no major-league experience outside of one year as third-base coach in Oakland and 41 games as an interim manager with the 2012 Astros (a team that famously went 55-107). He does have 16 years of minor-league management, six Triple-A championships, and two PCL Manager of the Year titles to his name, however.
The Bronx native joined the Mets organization ahead of the 2018 season after three years with Houston’s Triple-A affiliate in Fresno. Much of his penchant for analytics draws back to his work beneath Jeff Lunhow, and he hasn’t overseen a losing season since 2011. Sam Dykstra of MiLB.com has listed DeFrancesco as a potential candidate.
