Report: Billy Beane On Mets' 'Radar' For President Of Baseball Operations

NEW YORK- With all the buzz centered around the Mets potentially going after Theo Epstein for their president of baseball operations vacancy this offseason, one MLB insider says they also have their eye on another strong candidate.

According to Jon Heyman of MLB Network, legendary front office executive Billy Beane is currently on the Mets' radar.

Word is, A’s honcho Billy Beane is indeed on the Mets’ radar to run baseball ops. @Ken_Rosenthal suggested a Beane/Bob Melvin combo. 2 reasons Beane might work: A’s stadium mess has worsened and A’s probably like the idea of saving $. Mets obvs can afford him, however, https://t.co/6xB5m9PugC
— Jon Heyman (@JonHeyman) September 17, 2021

As Heyman went onto note, there are two reasons that Beane would be interested in leaving his current role as Oakland Athletics' vice president of baseball ops to come to the Mets. For starters, the A's are currently begging the city of Oakland to let them build a new stadium, which is turning into a messy situation.

Beane is also under contract for one more year, and A's ownership is mulling the idea of moving the team to Las Vegas, given the push back they've received from Oakland's community about constructing a new ballpark.

Secondly, A's owner John Fisher wouldn't mind saving money by letting go of Beane. Fisher could then promote general manager David Forst to president of baseball ops.

Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic also wrote a column recently, where he floated the idea of the Mets drawing Beane over from the Oakland Athletics. And if this were to happen, A's manager Bob Melvin could potentially follow him to New York, as they've spent the past 11 seasons together in Oakland.

Beane has a 4% ownership stake in the A's, and Steve Cohen might have to be willing to give him the same type of deal with the Mets, which could be tricky.

But Beane has a strong relationship with Mets president Sandy Alderson, and the two would have a chance to reunite again in New York. Alderson was Beane's mentor in Oakland, and gave him his first shot when he hired him in 1997.

And the rest is history, as it was a spring board for Beane's illustrious career as a front office executive.

Beane of course, was the No. 1 overall draft pick of the Met as a player back in 1980. However, he was never able to cut it in the big-leagues.

Regardless, Beane has led the Athletics to 11 playoff appearances and seven division titles as an executive, despite working with a limited payroll.

If Beane were to come to New York, he would no longer have to deal with payroll constraints, as Cohen is worth $16 billion.

Beane also re-hired Alderson as an advisor to the baseball operations department for the A's from 2019-20, after Alderson departed from his role as GM for the Mets in 2018.

As for Melvin, he has won Manager of the Year three-times in his career, and has led the A's dugout since 2011. During this span, the A's have made the postseason in six out of 11 seasons.

Melvin played 10 seasons in the majors, and spent part of the 1994 season with the Yankees. Following his retirement, he was also a scout for the Mets for two-years.

With a shadow of uncertainty surrounding current Mets manager Luis Rojas' job security, due to the organization's intention to hire a new president of baseball ops, Melvin could be the perfect candidate to lead the Mets' clubhouse given his track record.

If the Mets were to bring in Beane and Melvin, it could help get rid of some of the historic dysfunction, which hasn't gone away in Cohen's first year as owner.

This is a move Cohen and the Mets must strongly consider in order to turn things around.