October 13: The Mets’ wide-ranging search for a new PBO apparently won’t reach as far as the NFL. Joel Sherman of the New York Post reports there had been some speculation that Paul DePodesta, currently the chief strategy officer for the Cleveland Browns, was being considered as a possible candidate, but DePodesta tells Sherman he’s not interested in leaving his current position. Prior to making the jump to football in 2016, DePodesta had a long run working in various MLB front-office jobs with Cleveland, Oakland, the Dodgers, San Diego and the Mets.
On the other side of the ledger, you can add Dodgers’ assistant GM Brandon Gomes to the list of names the Mets may want to interview, writes Andy Martino of SNY. However, Martino suggests the Dodgers could consider promoting Gomes themselves if the Mets express serious interest in poaching him.
October 12: The Mets have discussed Josh Byrnes as a possibility in their ongoing search for a new president of baseball operations, reports Buster Olney of ESPN (Twitter link). Byrnes has spent the past eight seasons as the Dodgers’ senior vice president of baseball operations.
Jon Heyman of the MLB Network suggested last month that Byrnes might pop onto the Mets’ radar, and it indeed seems he’s caught the attention of owner Steve Cohen and team president Sandy Alderson. It’s rather easy to see Byrnes’ appeal. The Dodgers have been among the game’s most successful franchises over the past few years, and executives like Alex Anthopoulos (Braves) and Farhan Zaidi (Giants) have done quite well after taking over baseball operations elsewhere following stints in the L.A. front office. Byrnes interviewed for the Phillies’ leadership position that eventually went to Dave Dombrowski last winter but ultimately decided to remain in Los Angeles.
Byrnes also has plenty of experience running day-to-day baseball ops. Before joining Los Angeles, the 51-year-old had stints as the general manger of the Diamondbacks and Padres. In a somewhat ironic twist, Byrnes reportedly came close to landing the Mets’ GM job that went to Alderson back in 2010. Now, Alderson finds himself with a key role in settling on New York’s next baseball operations leader. While he assumed control over day-to-day operations for the final few weeks of this season, Alderson is planning to move back into a broader team president role for 2022.
Byrnes becomes the latest big name tied to the Mets, who are planning to request permission to interview A’s executive VP Billy Beane and Brewers’ president of baseball operations David Stearns. Unlike Beane and Stearns, Byrnes isn’t currently in charge of baseball ops elsewhere, which could make the initial hurdle of getting permission from his current club for an interview — should the Mets decide to take that step — easier than it is with the other candidates. The Mets already interviewed Theo Epstein, but the former Red Sox and Cubs leader will not be taking over in Queens.
Need to blow the franchise up and start the rebuild already
Hardly.
Balderdash!
It seems like they stock up in a single year then break it down.
It seems that has to do with a lack of a long term plan in the front office that largely related to a lack of continuity in the FO. Aggressive, short term goals in the last two years piling on the ineffectual Wilpon ownership.
Almost feel bad for Mets fans, but Dodger fans had to deal with McCourt and Murdoch practically running the team into the ground. Cohen will likely help bring the Mets back to success, it just won’t be overnight (one season) like he hoped.
*ownership** was a big part of this.
Due diligence – I’d have tried to find the office in the first place – prior to purchasing the franchise.
This endless game of hide & seek (see Callaway, M.) must be irksome for the new owner.
LolMets,
They could have, should have hired Chaim Bloom 3 years ago who has the Red Sox now in the ALCS. But no they hired Brodie Van Wagonen and rehired Sandy Alderson instead.
Look at the above list of retreads. LOL
The Mets remain clueless and are moving backwards while the teams competing in the postseason are light years ahead and moving forward.
Robrock30,
Talking to myself here Chaim Bloom 38 yo young man from the Tampa Rays Organization just beat his former WS Team. K Hernandez, Hunter Renfroe, Kyle Schwarber, Hansel Robles ????? ( oh no how did he get in here? ) nicely done!
This would be hysterical! Byrnes is a mess and he would fit in great.
Tell us more, Dodgerfan34.
I know it’s fun to dump on the Mets FO. But they have a new owner. I wouldn’t jump on him after one year. By your criteria, the Astros were a mess after year one of their rebuild, as are the Orioles today….and others. It may surprise you, but restructuring FO’s can’t go out and hire a new staff in one offseason.
People like you think organizations are the same as going to a fast food drive-in – just spend the money and it’s instant satisfaction. That’s probably because you’ve never accomplished anything in the adult world, and think changing attitudes and behavior is like flipping a switch. Perhaps you’ve been watching too much political TV or listened to your teachers that preach that crap, as they too never produced anything other then to indoctrinate non-critical thinking young people that are mandated to be in their classes. The adult world is compilated. First thing one must do is to grow up and understand that everyone wants to succeed…..and most don’t.
Well you tried. But no one will read that word salad
Yes, thinking is difficult for people like you.
Every owner just needs to add to payroll. Right?
I read it. Well said Samuel.
Well, “compilated.”
@Mastershake….While it doesn’t actually fit how one would describe “word salad,” Samuel’s post had some good points and also a bit simple.
His comment is without nuance and sounds like it’s from that stereotypical grumpy grampa. Then again, that segment is not a small segment of major sports.
But the the 2nd and 3rd sentences in 2nd paragraph of Samuel’s post are asinine.
Too late, I read it. Kinda short really.
@Samuel Once upon a time, I was an executive recruiter. Talent is difficult to find and even harder to pry away. There are reasons why hiring companies paid my company big bucks to help fill a top vacancy.
Congratulations on the awesome job you used to have bleachercreature.
Thanks! My job is even better now.
@Samuel
Sounds like you haven’t been an adult all that long. Adults who are comfortable in their maturity, don’t need to belittle in the guise of adulthood.
LongTime agreed. And Steve Cohen has a track record of being unethical. Look at his business practices.
@dodger1958
Not being a hedge fund owner myself – could you explain – exactly what Mr Cohen’s company was fined for – and what – within the ethics of hedge funds – was particularly unethical?
Not being rude but I don’t have an effing clue where my various pensions are invested….
I own a hedge by the way – at the bottom of the garden. Some birds live in it. I feed them, but they’ve never brought me the advice I’ve been looking for. The hedge (mostly green) runs from the north west to the east side. The northern most exposed section we’ve named Callaways regions. In deference to my kilt wearing Scottish milliner.
The east side – that’s wild – another story….
17dIzzy-Don’t you understand it is Cohen he wants to call all the shots and no respectable person wants to work for him even if he overpays him.Mutts will never
win anything with him as owner
A’sfaninLondonUK-Stick to watching soccer because you know nothing about baseball
I also did, your right on the money Samuel.
Why is Byrnes a mess, pray tell?
How’s he a mess?
I figured they’ll go after a Dodger assistant.
Jeffrey Kingston looks like a comer. Don’t know the situation with the DBacks and Padres when he was with them, but he wasn’t terribly successful.
Saw the name Byrnes, and mistakenly thought Eric Byrnes? Now that would be a hoot and a half if it were Eric.
Spicoli could probably do a better job than the guys who have been doing it
The guy who traded Anthony Rizzo?
You’re thinking of the guy who traded Max Scherzer for Ian Kennedy and Edwin Jackson.
Ooof!!
I wonder if Byrnes still believe Scherzer is a future bullpen arm?
To be fair, Theo traded Rizzo too
Byrnes helped ruin 2 franchises. D-Backs and Padres. Don’t care if he worked 20 years in the Dodgers, he isn’t a GM that would make it happen for New York.
If the Brewers fall out of the playoffs and David Stearns wants to go back home to NYC, then either the Mets work something out with Mr. Attanasio this year, or the Mets should hold the Baseball Ops position for him until next year.
Sandy Alderson hired Billy Beane as a FO guy, and introduced him to the analytics that he and Tony Larussa were using with the A’s (do not believe images created by Hollywood and the media – the truth is easy to look up if you try just a little). Beane is a fixture in the Oakland area. He has family and life-long friends there. At his age, moving cross-country and starting life over is unrealistic. Theo Epstein cannot sustain a winner, and not only is he expensive, he also needs to spend a lot of money – most wasted on pitchers that flame out. Anyone else the Mets go after is a crapshoot. They just tried 2 guys that worked under Epstein – that blew up in their faces. They have no one else in the organization to promote because talented baseball people didn’t want to work for the Wilpon’s.
Stearns is their best shot, else they may have to wait to see who becomes available. Other than that they can take another chance on a young Baseball Ops guy that’s had success – hence my brining up Jeffrey Kingston that’s done well with the Dodgers, is respected, and should have gotten the Angels job last year.
@Samuel
Theo turned the Mets down – he wants to be part of an ownership group, buy a team and rebuild from scratch.
He also wants to complete his mission working for MLB – to improve the game on the field.
The two guys the Mets tried who worked for Epstein were for GM and interim GM. Mets are seeking President of Baseball Operations first and foremost.
The Brewers have a fairly wide open window of contention right now so i would doubt Stearns would want to leave for the dumpster fire in Queens
Josh Byrnes LOL look at his track record as a GM. Jfc Mets
slim I remember back when the NY Yankees hired Joe Torre. Look at his track record before the Yankees. Same with Bruce Bochy (who, by the way, has a lifetime losing record).
Look at his track record of drafting players.
MetsFan22 isn’t under consideration?
I too am shocked. Who else can they trust with spending about $800 million to not be a playoff team?
Hopefully this time it sticks
@Samuel… your words are too real for the simp minded. I usually just laugh @ them, even when you answer intelligently you’ll lose the argument cause they won’t even understand what you just said.
No thanks
Do they think this would magically turn them into the Dodgers? What a joke.
They will find something he said 10 years ago and fire him in a week.
Mets should look at Amiel Sawdaye for GM once they fill the President position
Please hire Bill Bean. Big A’s fan but would love to see what he can do with some money behind him.
@jessaumodesto
You mean Billy Beane, not Billy Bean who played for Padres.
I say pass on Billy Beane, not the right fit for the current Mets. It’s bad enough that Cohen sticks with Alderson – hiring an Alderson disciple whose spent his long career as baseball executive on the West Coast with small market team would be big mistake. Mets cannot afford to make the wrong choice. In my opinion, Beane isn’t the right choice. .
Have you ever been to the Bay Area? 6th largest media market and growing fast.
Has Andy McPhail ever worked for the Mets? Maybe they should consider him. He somehow got the reputation as a guy who could turn a franchise around. Don’t let his track record fool you. Somewhere deep down(very deep down) he is a baseball genius. Just trust the process.
Or maybe if Dave Gettleman gets fired, he could just move across town and take control of the Mets. He is another guy with the valuable skill of being able to convince rich people he knows what he’s doing in spite of past results. Those skills transcend from one playing field to another.
They should hire me. I would bring a World Series to the Mets. Not him
I keep seeing all these comments about how bad his track record is. I feel like one guy made the comment and maybe the rest are just regurgitating it as their own thinking it’s logical. His track record as far as the draft goes is excellent. It doesn’t take long to check out the list of players he’s drafted. That’s what the Mets need is someone that can draft because I haven’t seen a prospect rise up out of this organization in a while. Ahmed Rosario had a nice year for the Indians but that’s about it. deGrom is the only one that has become great. Syndergaard meh. Kelenic is a one year sample but boy that one year did not go so well. Someone needs to stop this organizations run of making horrible trades and having even worse drafts.
Mystery his role with the Doyers involves drafting to a great extent. Which, as you stated, has been highly successful at. AA was fired as GM of the Jays went to work for the Doyers and now has taken the Braves to the league championship series. He’ll do fine as GM if hired. But I wouldn’t work for Cohen. Clearly character/ethics issues (which is consistent with his organization).
Jacob Degrom, Pete Alonso, Jeff Mcniel, Matt Harvey in his prime, Seth Lugo, Conforto & Nimmo are some good ones. There’s also quite a bit of talent on other teams that the Mets draft. The Mets are good at drafting maybe not in the first round but they have a good track record.
@Mystery
We have some top notch talent still developing. A couple of very talented starting pitchers that are now becoming healthy, maybe the second highest ranked catcher and one of the top shortstops. Mauricio probably moves to second base next year. These kids probably show up within the next 2 years. The system is not as barren as many want us to believe.
KEEP DREAMING NO WAY BYRNES COMES BECAUSE OF OWNER INVOLVEMENT
All caps this time Bob. How did he hurt you?
STAY AWAY FROM STEARNS
Come up with a new position, say “Baseball Guru” or “Baseball Czar” and then call it a promotion and hire Cashman away from the Yankees. We all know they want to be the Yankees, anyway. It would be a Win/Win, as Yankees fans want Cashman gone.
Technically, they wouldn’t have to. The Yankees have a President, but he’s on the business side. It’s a higher position than President of Baseball of Operations (PoBO). They’ve yet to jump into the title inflation pool with a PoBO title. Cashman is the head of all baseball ops, but I believe his title is something like General Manager and Senior Vice President. So they could request to interview him trying to claim it’s a promotion, but it wouldn’t. It’s the same job, and it would be for the Mets, so permission would not be granted.
Yankee fans don’t seem to be as focused on Cashman as they are Boone. They’ll be disappointed as Son of George is already indicating Boone will return. If Hal is saying that, then he’s already talked to Cashman, who basically is an extension of the Steinbrenner family. He’s not leaving.
Maybe a GM from the Mexican League and he can bring a Mgr from there too.They may work for this hands on Owner.Oh thats right the whole organization is hands on.
You okay Bob? Did Cohen steal your sweetie or something?
Peter Brand rejects the Mets.
Names are getting worse and worse because nobody wants to work for this FOOL Cohen or his troubled front office.
ANDY MCFAIL would be perfect
More likely that DePodesta said he was not interested in leaving his current job to work for the Mets. LMAO
Yeah but that doesn’t fit the narrative on here. Just post “Mets suck.” It’s really clever and you’ll get a lot of likes.
The job no one wants…
Why won’t the Mets go after an established President of Baseball Operations such as John Mozeliak of the Cardinals.
Offer him a contract he can’t refuse!!!!!!
Results——
Strong and productive farm system.
Home grown talented stars instead of multi million dollar contracts of star players who’s past their prime.
Plus—- ability to obtain managers who will buy into a program that produces perennial Post Season teams.
People like Mozeliak are there if the Mets would pay the dollars it takes to get a person to turn the tide.
Why be continual Playoff Pretenders??
When with John Mozeliak—- the Mets would be ——- PLAYOFFS CONTENDERS!!!
Yes, they should outspend everyone else to hire the best off field personel. It doesn’t work for players, but it can work for all other positions.
17dIzzy-Don’t you understand it is Cohen he wants to call all the shots and no respectable person wants to work for him even if he overpays him.Mutts will never
win anything with him as owner
Of course, he just fired his manager for a difference of opinion in regard to the future direction of the Cardinals. Hopefully we bring Schildt into the Mets dugout, or at least someone with a similar proven track record.
@17dIzzy. You do realize that our farm system has been pretty amazing over the past 7-8 years, right? It has produced probably 20-25 every day players including pitchers in that span.
I think we can all agree Lindor’s first season was a bust, statistically. But he did bring some other positives: energy, leadership, solid glove, positive attitude outside of the Baez situation.
He’s our shortstop for a long time and then our second baseman. If he can find his stroke from 2019, his bat will carry his age. He can always move to the outfield in his mid to late 30’s.
I deserve the position. I would bring a World Series to New York. I deserve to be hired trust me
I think the recently let go Mike Schildt (manager Cardinals) and Marcus Thames (hitting coach Yankees) jump to the front of the pack for Mets’ hired hands.
I’m sure Thames would love to prove that the Yankees made a mistake and steal the back page headlines.
Schildt brings a proven winning track record of success and positive player relations to the table. I truly hope the Mets don’t go after yet another manager with no mlb experience.
Neither will come to the Mutts they are respectable coaches.No one wants to come here with that owner who is involved in everything.The only people coming here are retreads from the past who are desperate for any of the jobs they can get.