Eduardo Pérez was the runner-up during the New York Mets’ first managerial search this offseason. Now, he’s the favorite to land the job.
Per Betline, ESPN broadcaster Eduardo Pérez is the odds-on favorite to land the New York Mets managerial job. Betline gave odds to 11 potential candidates for the position.
Pérez stands alone at the top of the list at +300. He was the runner-up for the job back in November when the Mets hired Carlos Beltrán. Nonetheless, he did sign a long-term contract extension with ESPN after failing to land a managerial role in the fall.
Betline has Mets quality control coach Luis Rojas in second place at +325. Reports stated on Thursday that the Mets were considering Rojas for the job. Like Pérez, Rojas was a finalist for the position in November.
Only two other candidates were given decent odds of landing the job by Betline. Mets bench coach Hensley Meulens has been given +350 odds and Washington Nationals’ bench coach Tim Bogar was given +400 odds.
Meulens has been interviewed for a number of managerial jobs in the past, with the most recent one being the New York Yankees‘ opening in 2017. He hasn’t been able to lock down a role of that nature in the MLB yet. Regardless, he’s been the manager of the Netherlands at the last two World Baseball Classics. Meulens also won three World Series titles with the San Francisco Giants as a hitting coach.
Bogar is the most experienced candidate of the bunch. He won the Manager of the Year Award three times while in the minors and is coming off a World Series-winning season with the Nationals. Bogar also possesses MLB managing experience, serving as an interim skipper for the Texas Rangers in 2014.
Betline additionally lists both Bogar and Pérez as candidates for the Boston Red Sox managerial position.
The seven remaining candidates Betline provided odds for the Mets job are:
Mets first base coach Tony DeFrancesco +700
Former Giants manager Bruce Bochy +900
Former Orioles manager Buck Showalter +900
Former Reds manager Dusty Baker +900
Former Mets manager Terry Collins +900
Former Blue Jays manager John Gibbons +1000
Nationals hitting coach Kevin Long +1200
