3:18 pm: Andy Martino of SNY reports that while the Mets have indeed requested permission to speak with Arnold, they’ve yet to receive an answer from Milwaukee. Given that the New York job would be a step up in terms of title and responsibility, it would seem likely the Brewers would eventually allow him to interview. However, Martino cautions that Arnold’s contract may contain language limiting his ability to field requests from rival clubs.
12:43 pm: After being denied permission to interview Brewers president of baseball operations David Stearns, it appears as though the Mets have set their sights on his second-in-command. Mike Puma of the New York Post reports (via Twitter) that the Mets have been in contact with Brewers general manager Matt Arnold and may have even made an offer for Arnold to become their new president of baseball operations. Arnold, at this time, is seen as the Mets’ “top candidate,” per Puma.
While the Brewers weren’t keen on allowing Stearns to interview for a lateral move to the same title in Queens, it’s not surprising that they’re apparently more open to affording that opportunity to Arnold. Teams will generally let their executives interview with other clubs in the event that the role in question represents a promotion. Arnold ascending from GM to president of baseball ops would certainly fit that billing, as he’d be in line for a title bump and would have autonomy over the Mets’ entire baseball operations outfit.
Arnold, 42, has been with the Brewers since Stearns hired him away from the Rays and named him assistant general manager following the 2015 season. He’d spent the previous nine seasons with Tampa Bay, rising from the scouting staff to director of player personnel. He’s also worked with the Reds, Dodgers and Rangers in a baseball operations career that now spans more than two decades.
Arnold was of interest to the Angels last offseason when they were in the market for a new GM themselves, and he interviewed with the Pirates in the 2019-20 offseason during their GM search as well. But the Brewers, who’d recently promoted Stearns to president of baseball operations, promoted Arnold to general manager within their own hierarchy and kept him off the board for other clubs seeking to fill that role. A move to the Mets’ presidency does not appear one the Brewers would block, hence the reported contract and possible offer being extended.
It’s been a tumultuous front office search for the Mets over the past year. Cohen came in with his sights set high but was unable to hire a president of baseball operations to his lofty standard last winter. Instead, the Mets pivoted to hire a general manager who could possibly be groomed as a future president. That search led them to Jared Porter, who was fired just weeks later after revelations of repeated sexual harassment by Porter in past work environments. Zack Scott, whom the club had hired as an assistant general manager, was elevated to “acting” GM and seen as a possible GM candidate this winter before an August DWI charge brought his own future with the organization into question.
The Mets set out with high expectations again this offseason, pursuing the likes of Stearns, A’s executive vice president Billy Beane and former Cubs/Red Sox president Theo Epstein. The Brewers denied permission to interview Stearns for a second straight offseason. Epstein and Cohen reportedly mutually agreed it was not a good fit after one conversation. Beane removed himself from consideration before even formally discussing the matter. Subsequent interest in Giants general manager Scott Harris and Dodgers assistant GM Brandon Gomes has come up empty as well; Harris is a Bay Area native who reportedly does not wish to leave his current role, while there have been multiple reports that the Dodgers could be positioning Gomes for his own promotion to GM status.
TradeAcuna
Brewers seriously need to hide their GM, managers, staff, janitors, cooks, uncles, aunts, sisters, brothers, babies from the Mets.
Al Hirschen
Stan Bowman is Available to run the Mets
Al Hirschen
Dennis Lin
@dennistlin
·
2h
The Padres interviewed former White Sox and Marlins manager Ozzie Guillen for San Diego’s managerial opening, sources tell me and
@Ken_Rosenthal
. The interview took place last week
Buckner
Jared Porter, 42
Zack Scott, 44
Matt Arnold, 42
Bryn Alderson, 42
Besides being around the same age, all seem to have similar resumes/backgrounds.
“What difference does it make?”.
Steve Cohen once stated that he does not want to hire someone who is “going to learn on my dime.”
Yet, that’s what seems to be happening.
dugmet
I believe Cohen’s comment was clearly designed to explain BVW’s dismissal who was operating under the tutelage of Omar Minaya and others – who were not brought back either.
Canosucks
If Omar Minaya got the job he would sign Albert Pujols to a 10 year guaranteed contract. 🙂
Rsox
Steve Phillips is probably available. Maybe Omar Minaya?
SalaryCapMyth
@Buckner. I think Cohen is adjusting his expectations to being willing to allow his PoBO to learn on his dime. It’s either that or except less attractive candidates.
rememberthecoop
** accept **
Robrock30
They are ahead of you,
Andy Martino
@martinonyc
·
9m
The Mets need permission to speak to Arnold because he is under contract with another club. Also, there is a belief that Arnold has language in his contract that limits his ability to interview with other clubs. Arnold did not respond to a request to fact check that last point.
Fan0Sports4
given Martino’s track record do you truly believe anything coming out of his mouth?
davidk1979
Hire him please!
bucsfan0004
Awkward press conference…. “Here is our 13th choice, the guy we wanted all along”
Fan0Sports4
media vs reality
Stormintazz
Get Trade Stearns and keep Arnold. Get Bret Batty in return for Stearns.
mets7300
YEAH
DREAM ON ……
HiAndTight
Yeah…to be honest, I wouldn’t even want that deal as a Brewers fan, but..nobody gives up a top 50 prospect for an executive. Theo and Jed were “traded” for a couple of lower tier prospect. Xander’s brother and a few other guys who I don’t think ever made it.
I think Stearns is a genius and I actually think that trade would benefit the Mets and hurt the Brewers, but it’s entirely unrealistic. If the Mets wanted Stearns that bad, they would just wait a year and say they were going to keep their interim GM and “re-evaluate” next year. Not give up a 3rd Basemen who can hit 40 HRs and stay at the hot corner.
I mean…I could see Josh Hader going to the Mets for Baty…but that’s about it.
Stormintazz
Stearns a genius? I would not go that far. He has trouble putting a offense together. He’s close to being as over hyped as Billy Beane
Bud Selig Fan
HighAndTight is right, Stearns is a genius, and now that he’s rebuilt the organizational structures/departments, you watch him upgrade the offensive core to better match the best in baseball controlled prime-aged pitching. This team is the next real multi-year juggernaut
Lloyd Emerson
Just say no.
Dan Hunter
Who?
darkstar61
Ohh, the barroom dartboard approach.
Keep throwing, Mets, eventually you’re bound to land on someone
rct
It’s literally what every team does. It’s just that the NY media reports on everything that every NY team does. If they do preliminary contact with eight candidates (not even interviews, just preliminary stuff like gauging interest) you’re going to get eight stories about it, then probably eight more to update the status of that candidate’s interest.
Every team in baseball casts a wide net when looking for a GM, then they whittle it down to a few and conduct interviews. You don’t get a million stories about it, though, because it’s not in New York and/or no one cares.
Cosmo2
Folks just love to hate on the Mets, even if, in doing so, they makes themselves look totally ignorant to how all of this works.
rct
Yep. The commenters here just love to lap up the hysteria and drama and play right into the media’s hands. For most teams, all of this stuff would be a non-story. But the Mets can place one phone call to a potential candidate and everyone here loses their mind if that person doesn’t immediately take the job.
Lloyd Emerson
Cosmo, I can’t speak for anyone else, but I don’t hate on the Mets. Quite the opposite. That franchise is hilarious. You can’t hate on something that you laugh at so much. Redefining ineptitude everyday, that’s The Mets Way.
VonPurpleHayes
Why are all these names being reported on early? I usually agree with you Cosmo, but this isn’t business as usual. By making contact and reporting interest in candidates they know they aren’t going to get, the Mets are creating a situation where it will look like they are settling. It’s not necessarily true, but it’s a mess of their own making. Other teams literally do not do this. The Mets aren’t the mess some fans like to say they are, but they’re certainly their own worst enemy sometimes.
darkstar61
This is also based off a fallacy by rct, who said
“Every team in baseball casts a wide net”
I’m not sure thats ever true regarding top front office positions. But even if was, the Mets specifically had a “very short list” for these positions
So now every time the newest name added to the list results in a failure, an even newer name is added. Rinse, repeat.
As you say, their own worst enemy. And this, coupled with the free agent market last season, both paint a picture of a rich guy who just assumes he can offer money and get whatever he wants. It’s not working
darkstar61
What you described isn’t what is happening here
What is happening here is they come up with a target, get denied, come up with a new target, get denied, come up with a new target, get denied, and on and on
It’s what happened in free agency last offseason too, with them landing on the bargin bin and being pressured into giving out a disaster of an extension to the big name they traded for just to make it look like they werent a failure at landing their targets
Now as we speak, there are already reports circulating of the team beginning to contemplate just promoting from within because of it all
HiAndTight
Yeah…that’s part of it, but the Mets also aimed VERY high. Who’d they start with? Beane, Stearns and someone else.
So Billy Beane who has turned down monster offers from the Red Sox…NOW he’s going to leave? It made some sense with Alderson, but, whatever.
Stearns, one of the best young execs in baseball, someone who’s dream job is probably the Mets job after growing up a Mets fan, being from NYC, getting his start with the Mets.
But he was blocked.
So I don’t think it’s fair to say that it’s just the media exaggerating. The Mets are a team that has maybe the most dominant pitcher since Gibson, they’ve got several other starters who can be dominant, they’ve got a farm system in good shape, they’ve got a franchise SS…who sucked last year, but I doubt Lindor is going to continue to struggle, he’s too talented.
Anyway, they’re also going to be spending like the Dodgers. So they’ve got this core and they’ll probably sign a couple big FAs.
So they’re from New York, big market…but they’ve been the little brothers. Now they’ve got the rich owner…and this decision will decide if they’re going to go the Dodgers route and combine the small market team building with the big market payroll or if they’ll just spend like the Yankees did after basically Jeter, Rivera, Pettite and Posada’s class arrived.
All that to say, what the Mets do is a REALLY big deal now that they’ve got serious owners who are also the wealthiest in baseball.
Bob333
Mets fan will be declaring themselves WS Champs for 2022 if they hire this clown.That’s just how they roll.Please hire this guy Cohen will ruin him and have his puppet he wants.walk around long enough with your chain out you will get a taker.
86mets
Only clown here is you. Nice mature comment.
Bob333
admit it is true nothing mature about it.
Bill M
You’re not really all that good at putting a sentence together, are ya?
Bob333
Is that the best you have typical Met fan loser we are the all time best organization in the world we are going to win WS every year.LOOOOOOOOSER
andremets
Unless you have been an Astros or Braves fan for the past 10 years or more, the loooooser label probably applies to you too.
Bill M
You never disappoint
vtadave
Bob – “…..nothing mature about it”. True bob, true.
JoeBrady
Why do you think Cohen will ruin him, assuming he doesn’t invite him to any of his parties?
And what makes you think Cohen wants a puppet?
It feels like you are just following the crowd of lemmings that feels like it needs something to complain about.
@DaOldDerbyBastard
Just admit that Cohen never called your mom after. She’s probably still waiting by the phone. You have a serious obsession with the man. He’s never going to let you call him dad. Get over it Bob.
Metsin777
They should really just hire Sabean. 3 world series titles and he actually wants to come here. I heard they want someone young but they literally have Sandy Alderson whos in his mid 70s running operations as of this moment. The answer is right in front of them yet they want to go for the querky choices that always backfire on them. Like choosing Beltran over Girardi, Brodie over Bloom, Zobrist over Murphy, etc. I don’t think Sandy Alderson has ever admitted he was wrong about anything ever
Gothamcityriddler
All I know is the longer it goes, the funnier it gets. Ahahahaha!
rct
Not sure if you can call selecting Beltran over Girardi a bad move. We don’t know what kind of manager Beltran would’ve been and it would have been pretty clairvoyant if they’d somehow known he’d be implicated in the Astros scandal.
And Zobrist never played for the Mets, so they didn’t ‘choose’ him over Murphy. They just didn’t want to spend on Murphy because outside of his monster playoff run, he’d always been just a slightly above average hitter. In the three seasons he’d been a Met prior to smashing 25 homers for the Nats (and leading the league in SLG), he’d hit a grand total of 36 while posting OPS+s of 108, 111, and 111. Go back to the comments on this very site from back then. No one thought Murph was worth the money.
andremets
I think the Mets first choice was Zobrist but he wanted 4 years. Murphy wanted 3 but the Mets traded for Walker instead who had a year left and later took the qualifying offer.
Buckner
Agreed. I don’t think there would be anything wrong with hiring Sabean as President and let him build/fill out the organization chart. There is no org chart now! Knowing he’s got 4-5 years to put a structure together and leave by 70.
But what do I know?
Canosucks
@ Metsin7 Dude if are paths in life ever cross I owe you a case of beer.
you say what I am thinking but can write it in a more articulate way
Couldn’t agree more; you saved this board 5 or my posts to say the same thing!
Secondly from a business point of view the longer this goes on you trash your own brand; not smart so Sabean is the right move on that point also instead piling more rejections in the media headlines.
Metsin777
@Canosucks 100% right
Larry David's Joe Pepitone Jersey
I don’t know if I’d really call any of those choices “quirky”
– Hiring a former player without any managerial experience has become a pretty common move (almost the norm at this point). In any case, the past two seasons have provided good proof that Girardi wouldn’t have made that much of a difference
– The Mets not getting Zobrist was basically dumb luck, and they replaced Murphy with someone who anyone without a crystal ball would have expected to give similar production. Everyone seems to forget that nobody really wanted Murphy, including the Nats who lucked into him having a breakout.
– Brodie over Bloom was solely the Wilpons wanting a mouthpiece in the front office, not a genuine effort to make an out of the box hire. Bloom probably just didn’t tell them what they wanted to hear.
For what it’s worth I think Sabean would be a reasonable hire.
HalosHeavenJJ
At this point I have to wonder how much autonomy the GM position has with the Mets. They are being turned down more often than the school nerd at prom time.
I can see not wanting to be second fiddle to Alderson.
rct
It’s because they’re setting their sights very high and going for big names. Theo, Beane, etc. It’s called due diligence. Cohen has a ton of money and is just shooting his shot.
HalosHeavenJJ
Those explanations make sense.
Cosmo2
They’re not really being turned down like you think. They’ve been trying to nab the biggest fish, most of whom are already in secure positions and would likely say no thanks to anyone. The Mets just need to move onto real, viable candidates and stop going for headlines.
jim stem
“Top candidate?” Maybe the only one to date.
LordD99
Update: Matt Arnold has expressed his thanks to the Mets interest but has decided not to pursue the opportunity.
This may or may not be true, or perhaps I’m a traveler from the future.
Robrock30
Andy Martino
@martinonyc
·
7m
The Mets have requested, but have not received, permission to speak to Brewers GM Matt Arnold, according to multiple league sources. Not totally dead but no permission.
Samuel
LOL
Yes, Andy has proven to be a terrific news source.
Right up their with Google and Facebook.
Robrock30
according to multiple league sources
LordD99
Really, I have no comment because it’s stunning. Why are these names leaked and then hours later there’s a reject or questions about the candidacy? They may get a good person eventually, but as Steve mentioned in his chat, they’re creating the impression they’re getting their second choice when that’s not necessarily the case. These leaks are intentional and it’s not serving them well.
dasit
negotiations broke down when cohen and arnold could not come to an agreement on whether miller lite tastes great or is less filling
Sunday Lasagna
Matt Arnold would be an excellent choice. Anyone denying that either didn’t bother to do any research, or is focused on instigating reactions rather than being a baseball fan. Mr. Arnold has 20 years of experience working his way up the ranks with the Dodgers, Reds, Rangers, Rays and Brewers. Nine of those years with the Rays he worked under Andrew Friedman in roles covering everything from scouting to player acquisition to analytics. He has earned his role as SVP and General Manager of the Brewers. If the Mets are fortunate enough to land him as President of Baseball Operations, all Mets fans and any true fan of the sport should be extremely pleased.
Samuel
“….and any true fan of the sport should be extremely pleased.”
@ ProfessorFalken;
I sure am. The Mets can easily overtake the Yankees in NYC with Hal and Cahman at the helm, and that would be something.
When the Brewers blocked speaking with Stearns, I figured the Mets would go after Arnold. I was going to post his credentials here, but you did a great job. The man has similar work experience to Chiam Bloom before the Red Sox hired him.
–
With all the ignorant bashing of Mr. Cohen and Sandy Alderson in MLBTR’s comment section, the fact is that it was Aldrerson with his business background that brought analytics to the A’s. and (unlike the chubby kid in the movie) it was Alderson that hired Billy Beane and introduced him to what the A’s were doing with analytics. As for Mr. Cohen, he’s a self-made billionaire with multiple investment companies, all of which use analytics heavily. Mr. Cohen is known in the industry for being a mathematical genius.
A FO guy like Arnold will get along fine with Cohen and Alderson. They said they’re in the 2nd year of a 5 year plan, and that’s how long it’ll take to build a solid organizational infrastructure. They can start winning before that’s totally in place. And it should be good news for Mets fans to see that last years Pitching Coach was extended. He did a great job.
It Arnold is brought on board, even a cynical guy like me is going to realize that the Mets are finally taking positive actions. I’ll hop on board.
Fan0Sports4
The chubby kid in the movie was a representation of paul deposta. Sandy has been horrid as Mets FO. Also for a Owner who said he has a zero tolerance policy how is Sandy employed with 2 DV cases (Mickey, Porter), 1 Drunk driving (Scott), 2 Workplace Harassment cases that he hired twice and fired them 4 months after being rehired for the same problem. Sandy must have some serious blackmail on Cohen or Cohen is a straight-up liar.
bobtillman
Professor F: I hear the Mets are looking for a paleontologist. Did you ever find one? And stop picking on John’s ties.
Monkey’s Uncle
Assistant TO the general manager…
AllAboutBaseball
When I first read the article title I thought the Mets were in talks with Tom Arnold.
MannyPineappleExpress9
Sam D’Arnold…
sox4ever
This is like option G for the Mets
True2theorange&blue
He has 2 first names. Worked out for Ricky Bobby! If your not first your last and with the Mets that’s mostly the case unfortunately
dasit
this would be a great hire. not sure how to live in a world where the mets make good personnel decisions…
Cheeseman Forever
Nothing wrong with Matt Arnold at all — he’s a fine baseball executive, except everyone knows David Stearns really runs the show here in Milwaukee (and runs it well). It would be a promotion for Arnold, for sure, but how much autonomy will he really have with Cohen and Alderson looking over his shoulder?
Phanatic 2022
He should be president too!!
njbirdsfan
I see the kings of free markets and capitalism in the Heartland, while busytaking bailouts and subsidies are now trying to limit employees’ opportunities to improve their fortunes. Typical.
Dan Hunter
As of ET 4:39 pm Arnold is Metropolitans POBO.
FloridaMan1988
Hope they say no to the pathetic Mets.
MetsFan22
I like it. Brewers would be a classless organization to deny a opportunity for a upgrade in a position. They don’t have to do anything but it’s kind of a unwritten rule.
tstats
I hope no one lights you up for this comment, I respect it a lot.
MetsFan22
I’m going to try and be less delusional about my Mets. I understand they had a lot of problems this year but I truly believe with the right moves their ceiling is high enough to win the WS
@DaOldDerbyBastard
That’s all we ask.
SalaryCapMyth
You love it and are saying the Brewers would be classless because you are angry that the Brewers weren’t going to let the Mets just take Stearn from them for a position that wouldnt advance Stearns career?
I mean, it’s ALSO an unwritten rule that you don’t seek another teams front office unless you are offering a promotion so I suppose the antithesis to what you’re saying is that the Mets ARE a classless organization?
MetsFan22
It’s classless to Arnold. That’s what I meant…
powerboat9
How about Cliff Floyd? Great demeanor! Also knows the game inside and out! Give him the money, and maybe he will lure away from the MLB network. (Manager ) as for GM Throw the coin Stevie and give what he wants ….. Theo Epstein he will make the Mets respectable
SalaryCapMyth
(TLDR paragraph at the bottom)
I’m really interested in this entire FO ordeal the Mets are going through. One poster made a comment that Cohen had previously stated that he didn’t want a PoBO who would have to learn on his dime. I can’t confirm this statement but it certainly sounds like a reasonable thought.
The irony is, Cohen himself seems like he is learning on his OWN dime. He either didn’t know or didn’t care that the socially excepted “rule” in baseball culture is that you don’t look for your FO personnel from another club unless it’s a promotion.
I feel like a learning curve should have been expected by us and that ignorance probably fueled our expectations for a playoff birth in 2021 for the Mets.
The Mets DID have a lot of injuries but so did a lot of teams. They also had a LOT of underperformers as well. They had McCann, McNeil, Conforto, D.Smith and Lindor all perform poorly. How can anyone expect a team to succeed when you have FIVE different places in your starting line up failing to do their part?
I won’t be surprised if we see a significant turn around in the Mets performance if Cohen can lock down the front office. It’s easy to believe that the dumpster fire the FO was over the 2021 season provided plenty of distraction for the team on the field.
Im not saying this is the only problem they have. I think Mets fans SHOULD be concerned about Lindor and his flagging production. It’s not like this year was the only concerning season he’s had. I’m sure there are plenty of issues the team has but perhaps a functioning front office will be less of a distraction and more of a help to the team on field.
————————————————
I suppose the TLDR version is; A healthy, functioning, front office can only help the team while a dysfunctional FO can only hurt it. I still think Cohen is good for the Mets and can still get more out of them than he he did this season. He just needs more time. Its to early to call time of death. This was his first season as an involved owner. I hope for the sake of Mets fans that he has learned from this season.
SportsFan0000
Get Matt Arnold and/or Jeff luhnow.
Get a “two fer”.
Get it Done Now!!!
PitcherMeRolling
You’re telling me he’s not rapey? With that face?
Braves Butt-Head
Hey Arnold!!!
Makes sense since its a cartoon show set in New York and so are the Mets.
tidybowlman
Matt Arnold’s school photo looks very nice.
BuhnerBuzzCut
Whoever NYM choose will probably be in a scandal and fired before opening day.
Cohens_Wallet
Vitamin (H)ate much?
brucenewton
Need that rookie GM yes man in place.
Backup Catcher to the Backup Catcher
The POBO, whoever he turns out to be, will have more of an impact on future Mets than the current team. As a Phillies fan, I have had many looks at the Mets, and their biggest recurring problem is keeping their players on the field.
Dunno. Maybe there’s something in the water up their in Queens? Yeah, other teams deal with injuries now and then, but the Mets injuries come in droves and, for whatever the reason, it’s a rinse-and-repeat scenario year after year.
Back in April I picked the Mets to not only win the NL East, but the NL pennant, as well. Thought they matched up well against all the key contenders. Then, bam! One injury after another, and that terrific start is but a faded memory.
Not sure what their budget looks like for 2022 or how many of their own FA they can afford to retain., but there’s a lot of talent in that clubhouse if someone can find the magic elixir to keep them healthy.
Camden453
Bring back Brodie
Dan Hunter
Adam McCalvy
@AdamMcCalvy
·
9m
Per a source with knowledge of the process, the Brewers’ Matt Arnold has withdrawn his name from consideration to be the Mets’ next president of baseball ops. That means Arnold will remain with the Brewers as GM, a role he was promoted to after the 2020 season.
RobM
He’s withdrawn.
The Mets have a problem.