Here is the latest on the Mets‘ search for a new manager…
Dec. 8, 11:49 a.m.
The Mets could soon whittle down their list of managerial candidates to two-to-three in advance of face-to-face interviews next week, reports Joel Sherman of The New York Post.
According to SNY’s Andy Martino, initial interviews began on Dec. 6 and have been taking place via Zoom.
It was reported earlier this week that the Mets could make a decision before the end of next week.
Per Martino, the known candidates for the job are former manager Buck Showalter, Houston Astros bench coach Joe Espada, Tampa Bay Rays bench coach Matt Quatraro, Los Angeles Dodgers bench coach Bob Geren, Pittsburgh Pirates bench coach Don Kelly, and former Detroit Tigers and Los Angeles Angels manager Brad Ausmus.
Dec. 7, 8:31 p.m.
According to MLB Network’s Jon Heyman, Buck Showalter, who is “seen as the favorite” for the Mets’ job, will interview with the club on Dec. 8.
Heyman reports that former Angels manager Brad Ausmus and Rays bench coach Matt Quatraro have already interviewed.
Dec. 7, 4:55 p.m.
According to Pat Ragazzo of Sports Illustrated, Max Scherzer prefers Buck Showalter to be the next Mets manager.
Showalter is one of a handful of candidates for the job, with SNY’s Andy Martino reporting that initial interviews have begun and have lasted as long as five hours.
Dec. 7 2:30 p.m.
SNY’s Andy Martino is hearing former Mets and current Los Angeles Dodgers bench coach Bob Geren is being added to the list of managerial candidates.
Geren was a coach under Terry Collins from 2012-15 and has a relationship with Sandy Alderson because of their time together during that time.
Geren also managed the Oakland Athletics from 2007 through 2011.
Dec. 7, 9:40 a.m.
The Mets are hoping to finish the hiring process for their new manager at the end of next week, per The New York Post’s Mike Puma and Ken Davidoff.
SNY’s Andy Martino reported on Dec. 6 that initial interviews are lasting as long as five hours.
The list of candidates includes Houston Astros bench coach Joe Espada, managerial veteran Buck Showalter, Tampa Bay Rays bench coach Matt Quatraro, Pittsburgh Pirates bench coach Don Kelly, and former Detroit Tigers and Los Angeles Angels manager Brad Ausmus, who has reportedly interviewed already.
Dec. 6, 7:45 p.m.
Brad Ausmus interviewed for the Mets’ managerial job, according to Jon Heyman.
SNY MLB Insider Andy Martino reported that Ausmus was a candidate and would be interviewing.
Buster Olney of ESPN also reports that the Mets have asked the Houston Astros for permission to interview bench coach Joe Espada, another confirmed candidate to Martino.
Dec. 6, 11:40 a.m.
The Mets have formally requested permission from the Tampa Bay Rays to speak with bench coach Matt Quatraro for their vacant manager role, per ESPN’s Buster Olney.
Quatraro was among the candidates SNY’s Andy Martino mentioned could be interviewed during this work stoppage.
Quatraro has been a Ray most of his baseball life, getting drafted by them in the 1996 Draft, though he didn’t make it to the Majors. Still, once he retired, he immediately began coaching and worked his way through the ranks of the Rays’ minor league system before joining the Cleveland Indians as assistant hitting coach in 2014.
The Rays would get him back as third base coach in 2017 before assuming his current role the year after.
Dec. 3, 11:16 p.m.
According to SNY MLB Insider Andy Martino, Curtis Granderson was discussed internally by the Mets as a managerial candidate because he is so highly respected, but he is not expected to interview.
Per Martino, the Mets feel they need someone with more experience.
Dec. 3, 3:11 p.m.
As the Mets put together their list of managerial candidates, Houston Astros bench coach Joe Espada is on it, reports SNY’s Andy Martino.
Espada has a connection to Mets GM Billy Eppler, with the two having worked together during their time with the Yankees.
Eppler said on Dec. 1 that interviews would start very soon.
Espada, 46, has been working as the Astros’ bench coach since 2018.
Before his time with Houston, Espada worked with the Yankees as a special assistant and was a coach under Joe Girardi from 2013 to 2017.
Prior to joining the Yankees, Espada was a coach with the Florida/Miami Marlins from 2010 to 2013.
Dec. 1, 2:05 p.m.
During the Max Scherzer introductory news conference, the subject of the next Mets manager was brought up and general manager Billy Eppler had an update on the team’s search.
“Definitely have a list of candidates, a pretty wide one, right now, and we’re walking through some of the criteria that we are looking for in a manager,” Eppler said. “As we wait for that criteria, some of those names we’ll call and ask permission on or speak to because they’re not with a particular club right now. Definitely a conversation I’ll be having with Steve [Cohen] later today or tomorrow morning and walk through that with him.
“I’ve had a couple of different volleys with Sandy [Alderson] on the subject. It’s coming through and we’ll start the process of actually formally interviewing people very soon.”
Nov. 16, 6:50 p.m.
A league official familiar with Billy Eppler’s thinking offered SNY MLB Insider Andy Martino a list of potential Mets candidates, including Brad Ausmus, Joe Espada, Eric Chavez, John Farrell, and Buck Showalter.
Martino notes that the Angels’ decision to part ways with Ausmus and hire Joe Maddon in 2019 came from the ownership level.
MLB Network’s Jon Heyman also mentioned Showalter as a potential name in the mix, noting that Showalter’s interview with the Angels “went very well.”
Nov. 15, 8:29 p.m.
With the Mets expected to bring in Billy Eppler as their next general manager, he has a list of managers he would like to bring in, notes SNY MLB Insider Andy Martino.
However, there will still be an interview process, and Martino also reports that a managerial hire is not imminent.
The Mets and Eppler are reportedly in the final stages of a deal being complete.
Nov. 9, 11:55 a.m.
Mets team president Sandy Alderson is dealing with two searches right now – one for a GM, the other for manager. But, as he told reporters at the GM Meetings on Tuesday morning in California, the Mets would rather their front office hire to come first.
“We don’t really want to do this in reverse order and hire from the bottom up,” Alderson said. “Now there was a possibility of doing that early in the winter, but in order to do that, you have to have someone that is universal.”
To further explain that answer, Alderson said this: “The good news in that regard is that aside maybe from Oakland – I’d expect they’d hire from within – there’s nobody else looking for a manager. In that sense, we’re not competing with three or four other clubs, which isn’t always the case in early November. …I think the circumstances are somewhat favorable because there isn’t a lot of competition right now.”
Oct. 28, 7:56 p.m.
Potential Mets managerial target Bob Melvin will be the next manager of the San Diego Padres, according to multiple reports.
The Oakland A’s had exercised their option on Melvin’s contract for the 2022 season, but also allowed him to interview for the job.
Melvin will reportedly sign a three-year deal with San Diego.
SNY MLB contributor John Harper spoke to scouts and execs who thought Melvin would be a perfect hire for the Mets, but Sandy Alderson has said a managerial hire will be made by whoever the new president of baseball operations is – that process is still ongoing.
Oct. 14, 2:57 p.m.
The St. Louis Cardinals have fired manager Mike Shildt, with president of baseball operations John Mozeliak citing a “philosophical difference” with the direction of the team.
There was one year remaining on Shildt’s contract.
“I felt the team was managed well. … This is not a reflection simply on wins and losses,” Mozeliak said. “It really was more at a higher level, where we saw the team going.”
Shildt, 53, went 252-199 in three-plus seasons as the Cardinals manager after taking over during the 2018 season.
The Cardinals made the postseason in all three of Shildt’s full seasons, advancing to the NLCS in 2019 and losing in the Wild Card game in 2020 and 2021.
Oct. 11, 5:43 p.m.
In an in-depth interview with The Athletic’s Britt Ghiroli, long-time manager Buck Showalter was asked about the rumblings that he’d be connected to two of the most popular manager vacancies in the league — the Mets and San Diego Padres.
Showalter admitted if the Mets gave him a call, he’d definitely pick up the phone.
“I don’t talk about jobs that aren’t currently open, so the ones that are, it’s always an honor just to be mentioned,” he said. “They got a lot of good, qualified people to pick from. I don’t know (if I will be asked to interview). That’s not my decision, but I’d listen if they (the Padres or Mets) called. Like I said, it’s an honor just to be mentioned.”
Showalter, who last managed with the Baltimore Orioles in 2018, added that he misses being in the dugout a lot. He’s recently been an analyst with the YES Network.
Oct. 4, 4:29 p.m.
SNY contributor and former Mets GM Jim Duquette broke down his early candidates for the manager role following the announcement that Luis Rojas wouldn’t be returning as manager. They are as follows:
– Carlos Beltran (once hired but let go after MLB’s Astros’ scandal report came out)
– Ron Washington
– Eduardo Perez (runner-up to Beltran)
– Bob Melvin (via trade; Billy Beane among those mentioned for baseball operations hire)
– Clint Hurdle
– Joe McEwing
– Buck Showalter
– Todd Zeile
– John Gibbons
– Miguel Cairo