New York Mets interview 6 GM candidates, will not hire a president of baseball operations

The New York Mets have shifted away from their search for a president of baseball operations. They will only hire a general manager for 2021.

During his Monday press conference — streamed by the New York Mets Twitter account — Sandy Alderson was open and transparent about the Mets’ search for a head of their front office.

He kicked things off by explaining that the Mets are no longer on the hunt for a president of baseball operations. They ran into trouble seeking permission for many executives due in large part to the fact it would’ve been a lateral move.

In response, Alderson explained that he would take over as the head of baseball operations for 2021 and the Mets would hire a general manager under him. However, Alderson made it clear that the hope is the general manager they hire would be able to grow into a president of baseball ops role in the future.

In full transparency, Alderson said he’s interviewed six candidates for the general manager position. He also said there are very few candidates that he didn’t personally know.

The two biggest names connected to the position in recent days are Bobby Heck and Chris Young.

Heck is currently the Tampa Bay Rays special assistant to the general manager and was formerly the Houston Astros scouting director. Heck is credited with building the Astros World Series team — he drafted 11 of the 25 members of the roster.

Chris Young is a former MLB player and Princeton graduate. Young played for the Mets, under Alderson, from 2011-12. He’s currently MLB’s senior VP of on-field operations, replacing Joe Torre in the role in 2020.

Another name that was once connected to the job but has since lagged behind is Billy Owens. Alderson and Owens worked together in Oakland the past two seasons, Owens as the assistant general manager and director of player personnel and Alderson as senior advisor.

Alderson didn’t say who he had interviewed for the open position, but those three are likely candidates. He also didn’t give a timeline for filling the position, so it may not be for a while.