The Mets’ offseason to-do list already has one of the biggest questions sitting near the top: who takes over as manager after Carlos Mendoza?
That search is shaping up to center on a familiar cluster of names. Former Red Sox manager Alex Cora is viewed as the prize, while Hall of Famers Carlos Beltran and Albert Pujols are also among the earliest rumored possibilities. Barring a change of heart, interim manager Andy Green is not expected to chase the full-time job and is slated to return to the front office for 2027.
Cora stands out because he is the only one of that group with substantial major league managing experience. Pujols does have one notable dugout assignment on his résumé, having managed the Dominican Republic team during March’s World Baseball Classic. Still, the Mets are being linked most closely to those three names.
“The first three phone calls are Beltrán, Pujols, Cora … Steve Cohen & David Stearns would like a win right now.”@jonmorosi on who the Mets next manager could be. pic.twitter.com/sNVBexKc6l
There is a catch, though: Cora may not be easy to land. Jon Heyman of the New York Post reported last week that the Phillies are likely to make a strong push to hire him again this winter. If that happens, the Mets would need to decide whether to pivot to another experienced candidate or move on to one of the first-time options.
David Ross has already put himself in the conversation. The former Cubs manager, who was replaced so Chicago could hire Craig Counsell, said on ESPN’s Mets-Orioles broadcast on Wednesday that he would be interested if the Mets called.
“I’ll answer the phone,” David Ross said just now on ESPN in answer to whether he’d be interested in the Mets (or any other managerial job). Ross, whose bench coach was Andy Green when he managed the Cubs, previously said as much to Dan Martin of @nypostsports
Whether the Mets have interest in Ross remains unclear, but the broader point is obvious: this is not a job for a team that should be treating experience like an optional extra. New York has already watched rookie managers ride the turbulence of this market, with Mendoza, Luis Rojas, Mickey Callaway, and Willie Randolph all dealing with the ups and downs that come with the post.
That is why Cora makes so much sense as the first call. He has the background, the track record, and the sort of managerial presence that fits a club with one of the highest payrolls in baseball and a direct path back to the postseason on its mind. If he winds up in Philadelphia with Dave Dombrowski instead, the Mets should not simply default to Beltran, Pujols, or any other candidate who has never managed at this level.
There are other established names out there if the Mets want to stay disciplined. Ross is one.
Rob Thomson is another. Don Mattingly could become available if Cora lands with the Phillies.
Rocco Baldelli is also on the list.
Beltran is the most complicated of the current options. He was supposed to become the Mets’ manager in 2019 before his connection to the Houston Astros’ sign-stealing scandal caused the Wilpons to back away before he managed a game. He is now a Hall of Famer and still has a strong relationship with the organization, but stepping out of his special adviser role and into the dugout would change that dynamic in a major way.
For David Stearns, the message is pretty clear: be careful, and be less adventurous than the market might tempt you to be. The next manager could absolutely be Pujols, Beltran, or another newcomer. But given the stakes, it may be smarter to let somebody else take that gamble while the Mets hire someone who already understands the day-to-day grind of the job.
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Batys path, though, has made the transition feel less straightforward than the Mets likely wanted. The organization had envisioned him growing into a dependable everyday utility piece, but his current offensive output has not come close to matching the level McNeil once reached as an All-Star. The cost savings are real, but so is the risk that the Mets are asking a player still searching for consistency to fill a much bigger role than he has yet fully claimed. [Read more 🡒]