With the resignation of Carlos Beltrán, the Mets need to replace him with another manager. Beltrán and the Mets mutually agreed to part ways after his involvement with the Astros sign-stealing scandal became public.
For the second time in the last six months, the Mets are searching for a manager.
Unfortunately for Brodie and the Mets, the manager pool is a lot smaller. Especially with the Astros and Red Sox also looking for new managers in the wake of the scandal. The best option for the Mets is an internal option and a person who was considered during the first search for a manager in late 2019.
Luis Rojas has been with the Mets organization since 2007. He has managed numerous Mets minor league teams in those 13 years. He most recently managed the Mets Double-A team in Binghamton from 2017 to 2018. Rojas spent the 2019 season as a member of Mickey Callaway’s coaching staff as the team’s quality control coach.
Rojas checks off a lot of the boxes that a team would want in a manager. He is bilingual, has previous managerial experience and is known within the organization.
Hiring Rojas to replace Beltran might not be the flashy hire, but he might be the right hire.
There could be two big obstacles in hiring Rojas. The first one is Rojas might not be ready to confront the New York media before and after each game. That was one of the biggest problems during Callaway’s tenure as Mets manager, and it could be a big hurdle for Rojas. The other major obstacle would be Brodie Van Wagenen.
Van Wagenen in his short time as Mets General Manager has been known to hire his guys. It is perfectly understandable to hire people who you trust. Rojas might not be a Van Wagenen guy but is a guy who the Mets clearly trust. Rojas has managed a lot of current Mets players during his time in the minor leagues. His relationships with current players could be a huge positive that outweighs the negatives.
The Mets should consider giving Rojas a one-year contract with a club option for a second. That way they minimize the risk if Rojas isn’t ready to manage and if he is ready they can exercise the club option.
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