Sandy Alderson was the front-runner to become the Mets’ general manager from the instant he expressed an interest in the job and — more important — from the moment commissioner Bud Selig gave his blessing to pursue the position.
It was going to take someone overwhelming Mets ownership to win as an underdog, and Mets officials were impressed by the other finalist, Josh Byrnes. But not enough to ignore their strong feelings about the instant credibility and sense of direction that would come with hiring someone with Alderson’s gravitas in the sport.
So yesterday — after meeting with Alderson for a second time — the Mets brass called the former A’s GM and Byrnes to let them know the final decision: Alderson would be replacing Omar Minaya.
The 62-year-old Alderson, who built the powerhouse Oakland teams of the 1980s, comes to the Mets after spending the last year-plus as a consultant to MLB. Alderson’s most recent stint in a major league front office came as Padres CEO from 2005-09. Alderson previously served as MLB’s executive vice president of operations.
The Mets liked the 40-year-old Byrnes, who helped build the Arizona team that reached the playoffs in 2007, but principal owner Fred Wilpon, COO Jeff Wilpon and president Saul Katz ultimately leaned toward Alderson’s experience and stature within the game.
Alderson’s first order of business is expected to be the hiring of a new manager to replace Jerry Manuel. A person close to Alderson yesterday doubted that popular Wally Backman, who guided Single-A Brooklyn this past season, will be the choice. Alderson is believed to seek a candidate with major-league managerial experience who is polished in dealing with the media — a large component of managing a team in New York.
Though teams are prohibited from announcing major moves during the World Series, which starts today, it’s expected that Selig would give the Mets permission to introduce Alderson during Friday’s scheduled travel day between the Rangers and Giants.
It was Selig who pro-actively told Alderson he could leave his position with MLB if he were interested in the Mets position. The commissioner clearly was looking to help his longtime friend, Fred Wilpon, by making available an executive of stature just at a time in Mets history when the organization needed that quality badly.
Alderson was selected from a group that included Byrnes, White Sox assistant GM Rick Hahn, Dodgers assistant GM Logan White, Blue Jays special assistant Dana Brown and Red Sox assistant GM Allard Baird. With the experienced Alderson on board, there is a possibility that Minaya, whose contract with the Mets runs through 2012, will be retained in some capacity.
Minaya was more likely to leave the organization if the team hired a younger general manager who wouldn’t want his predecessor looking over his shoulder. During the press conference to announce Minaya’s firing, Fred and Jeff Wilpon said the new general manager would have full autonomy over baseball decisions.
Alderson, a Harvard Law School graduate and former U.S. Marine, inherits a messy situation. Near the top of his list will be figuring out how to proceed with Oliver Perez and Luis Castillo, who are owed a combined $24 million next season.
Alderson might also explore the possibility this winter of trying to trade Carlos Beltran, who is owed $18.5 million in the final year of his contract. And then there is Francisco Rodriguez, who still has another year remaining on his contract with a vesting option, but could be traded in the aftermath of his August arrest for punching his girlfriend’s father at Citi Field.