Report: Mets Still In Hunt For President Of Baseball Operations
When Steve Cohen took over the Mets as majority owner last offseason, his initial plan was to search for a president of baseball operations to stand above his general manager in the pecking order.
But after conducting several interviews, the Mets were unable to find a candidate that they preferred, which forced Sandy Alderson to fill this role, despite his wishes to take a step back and serve as an advisor, as he continues to get up there in age at 73-years-old.
According to Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic, while acting general manager Zack Scott's promotion to permanent GM still seems likely, Cohen intends on picking his plan back up in search of a president of baseball operations next offseason.
Regardless of whether the Mets can find someone worthy of this role in the near future, Scott is expected to remain with the team.
The Mets promoted both Ian Levin and Bryn Alderson (Sandy Alderson's son) to assistant GM earlier in the season. This duo was deemed worthy given their extensive experience in the organization's scouting and baseball operations departments. This decision was in the works since Jared Porter was in place as GM, prior to getting fired for sending sexually explicit messages to a reporter back in 2016 when he was with the Cubs.
Scott was initially hired as assistant GM to Porter, before filling his role, following the firing.
One name that comes to mind as a prime candidate to fulfill the Mets' president of baseball ops position is the great Theo Epstein, who is currently working in MLB's commissioner's office. If Epstein were to come in, it's possible that he would take on an ownership stake, along with full control of the baseball operations department.
As Rosenthal also noted, additional league executives could become interested in the job if the Mets open up the interview process, but many of these possible candidates are still curious as to how Cohen will operate as an owner after his first year.
While these execs aren't as concerned with Cohen's previous cloudy history, where he was forced to pay a record fine of $1.8 billion for insider trading, there has been growing criticism around the league regarding the owner's involvement on Twitter.
According to Joel Sherman of The New York Post, the Mets do not plan on moving on from manager Luis Rojas, despite their recent downturn. But if the Mets fail to miss the playoffs after holding onto first place for three straight months, Rojas' seat could become hotter, especially if Cohen brings in a new president of baseball operations.
