Mets’ Hiring Andy Green Is Both ‘Safe’ and a Leap of Faith

With lead executive David Stearns facing a critical offseason, he chose to bring back a familiar face in the dugout who has a losing record in New York.

Andy Green has gone 37–38 as the Mets’ manager. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

The Mets have picked their next manager and, in a surprising move, gave the job to a guy who said he didn’t want it as recently as a month ago.

New York has removed the interim tag from Andy Green’s title and signed him to a three-year deal to take the gig permanently. Green came down from the Mets’ front office to fill in as manager after the team fired Carlos Mendoza on June 26. The expectation was he’d return to a similar role after the season. Instead, after going 37–38 on his watch, the team decided to hand the keys to the 49-year-old.

Green has done this before. He spent four years managing the Padres and four seasons as the Cubs’ bench coach. After Chicago fired David Ross to replace him with Craig Counsell, Green left the Cubs and joined the Mets’ front office, working in player development.

Green played parts of three seasons for the Diamondbacks from 2004 to ‘06, then played four games for the Mets in 2009. He began his coaching career in the minors with the Missoula Osprey in 2012, then won back-to-back Southern League Manager of the Year awards while leading the Mobile BayBears. That was enough for Arizona to hire him as its third-base coach.

After one season with the Diamondbacks, the Padres came calling and hired him. Green led the Padres’ rebuild from 2016 through '18. Before the ’19 campaign, San Diego landed Manny Machado in free agency, and a turnaround toward competitiveness was expected. That didn’t happen. Despite having former All-Stars in Machado and Eric Hosmer, plus rookie superstar Fernando Tatis Jr., the team limped to a 69–85 record before Green was fired.

He went 274–366 (.428) during those four seasons.

Green brings continuity for the Mets

Green seems to have earned the trust of the Mets’ clubhouse. The Athletic reports the team’s veterans were hoping he’d stay on. He had already built strong relationships with the team’s young players like Carson Benge, Nolan McLean and A.J. Ewing after working on the development side of things.

The Mets went 31–28 after the All-Star break, which speaks in Green’s favor. Owners Steve and Alex Cohen praised his work after he took over in a statement released Tuesday.

“Andy has connected with and pushed our players to perform, despite the disappointment of the season. Over the last several months, he has brought discipline, accountability and positivity to the clubhouse, attributes we were seeking in our next manager.”

The question is, why would the Mets want continuity from a season that went so far sideways? New York has been one of the most disappointing teams in baseball, and so many decisions along the way have brought them to this point. Of the three teams to fire their manager midseason this year, the Mets are the only one that won’t end up in the playoffs. David Stearns has made the call to hire Green, but he’s the same guy who guided the team into this mess. And Green has yet to manage a team with a winning record in parts of five seasons at the helm. Time will tell if it was wise to bring him back.

Mets president of baseball operations David Stearns has a good working relationship with Green. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Green’s three-year deal could essentially act as a one-year contract. If he doesn’t turn the team around next season, he could be gone along with the guy who hired him.

The Mets certainly have some solid pieces, but there are still holes all over the roster. Benge and McLean look like really good young players, while Juan Soto remains one of the best hitters of his generation. The downside is that the starting rotation needs to be rebuilt, Bo Bichette’s three-year, $126 million contract looks like a disaster and the trade for Marcus Semien similarly clogs up New York’s payroll for the next two years.

Stearns is overseeing a massive payroll but hasn’t built a competitive roster. Green won’t survive without the right players.

The Mets weren’t planning on hiring Green, and he wasn’t planning on taking the job. At some point over the past few months, he changed his mind. Now Stearns has to give him a roster that won’t make him regret the decision.

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