Three veteran executives are in charge of the future of the New York Mets, but there could be someone new by the end of the season.
In Sandy Alderson‘s recent absence, the New York Mets have Omar Minaya, John Ricco, and J.P. Ricciardi in charge of team operations with the non-waiver trade deadline approaching. Even though Ricco initially seemed like the most logical choice to become the team’s next general manager, there will still be an outside search conducted before making any kind of decision.
And according to Andy Martino of SNY, Ricco — who joined the Mets in 2006 as assistant GM — isn’t viewed as a favorite. Martino also mentioned that Tim Naehring, vice president of baseball operations for the New York Yankees, is unlikely to leave his current post to move across town.
With regard to Ricco, it’s easy to see why this both makes sense and doesn’t make sense. On one end, he’s been with the organization through quite a bit. Ownership and other influential people within the team may think that a fresh mind from the outside is necessary to help catapult them back into contention.
On the other hand, though, this is a head-scratcher because Ricco has seemingly been getting groomed as the heir apparent to Alderson for a number of years. That can be seen by him being the point man with regard to dealing with the press about the team’s deadline plans recently.
At the end of the day, this is an important process that needs necessary amounts of due diligence. Just as the next couple weeks are crucial to the immediate future of the organization, finding their newest leader in the front office is the next step of that process.
Removing Minaya from his post in favor of Alderson prior to the 2010 season was a franchise-altering move. Sure, there has been more losing than winning since then, but the rebuilding effort they embarked on led to consecutive playoff appearances and a National League pennant.
It’ll be interesting to see who the team decides to bring in for an interview, and if Ricco can significantly change his reported odds at landing the job over the following weeks and/or months.
