The New York Mets are leaning towards an old-school general manager to replace analytics-driven executive Sandy Alderson.
New York Mets general manager Sandy Alderson is currently on a leave of absence after a recurrence of cancer. While he is still technically the general manager of the team, it’s widely expected that he will not return to that role.
With the team expected to make an outside hire to fill the role, it is a signal of a possible change of direction for the team. Mike Puma of the New York Post reports that not only is the team leaning towards an outside hire, but that Fred Wilpon wants to hire an old-school general manager.
Puma says that the team feels that they have become too analytics-driven under Alderson, and the hope is that an old-school hire would bring them back to the center.
The fact that they specifically say “back to the center” is a good sign, as, while analytics aren’t perfect, completely ignoring them isn’t an effective way to run a team either. General managers need to consider all sources of information to make their decisions.
Puma reports that Omar Minaya will have a large hand in the interview process, which presumably eliminates him from contention for the job. He was the Mets general manager from 2005-2010. The team reached the NLCS under his guide in 2006, but many of his trades weakened the Mets prospect pipeline.
Puma points to Gary LaRocque as a candidate for the next general manager. He is with the St. Louis Cardinals but has ties to the Mets, having served as scouting director from 1998-2003. During his tenure, captain David Wright was drafted.
There are many opinions about who the next general manager will be (ESNY’s Ricky Keeler says it should be Ben Cherington), but it seems likely that whoever it is won’t be in the mold of Alderson.
