After a long and secretive hiring process, reports indicate the New York Mets are deciding between Carlos Beltran and Eduardo Perez.
The search for the next New York Mets manager is reaching a boiling point. Late Thursday night, Joel Sherman of the New York Post reported that Tim Bogar was out of the running.
Now two reports released within a minute of each other are confirming more details on the search.
Pat Murphy is no longer a candidate for Mets manager
— Jon Heyman (@JonHeyman) November 1, 2019
The Mets' managerial search is down to Eduardo Perez and Carlos Beltran, according to a source.
— Mark Feinsand (@Feinsand) November 1, 2019
Carlos Beltran and Eduardo Perez have long been considered favorites for the position.
Beltran has obvious connections to the job. He played for the Mets from 2005-2011. Allard Baird and Omar Minaya were key decision-makers for the team then and now. He also has the advantage of understanding the baseball landscape in New York better than just about anyone.
Beltran does have one critical weakness in his candidacy though, he’s never coached before. His experience in his post-baseball career has been limited to his role as a special advisor in the Yankees front office.
Despite that key weakness, Beltran is considered one of the hottest young managerial candidates in baseball. He turned down the opportunity to interview for the Cubs and Padres managerial jobs, making clear his intention to either manage the Mets or not manage anywhere in 2020.
Eduardo Perez, on the other hand, has a different set of skills and weaknesses. Perez’s strengths lie in his communication ability and his understanding of analytics. He has always been the strongest of the candidates in those categories. He also has both coaching and managerial experience.
His big issue is lack of experience in the pressure cooker that is New York. Perez didn’t play in New York during his playing career, nor has he ever coached in the Big Apple. A popular thought process is that Perez’s career as an ESPN analyst has prepared him for the New York media, but only time will tell.
The search is finally winding down. It seems like Mets fans will be finding out who their new manager is any minute now. That said, the Mets are not expected to make an official announcement until Monday at the earliest.
