The Mets cut their list of GM candidates from six to a pair Friday, with only Sandy Alderson and Josh Byrnes returning for interviews next week with owner Fred Wilpon and president Saul Katz, and COO Jeff Wilpon.
Alderson, the former Oakland and San Diego exec who is now working with Major League Baseball, has been the favorite to land the job since he expressed interest in it after Omar Minaya was let go earlier this month. Alderson will meet with the Mets on Tuesday.
Byrnes, who was fired as Arizona GM this season, was also highly thought of by the Mets and those around baseball expect him to get another top job at some point. He is scheduled to return Monday.
Hahn’s absence on the call-back list is somewhat surprising. The White Sox assistant GM is considered one of the top rising execs in baseball and sources said he did well in his interview.
Also no longer being considered are Boston assistant GM and former Kansas City GM Allard Baird; Dodgers assistant GM Logan White; and Toronto assistant GM Dana Brown.
“We are bringing back Josh Byrnes and Sandy Alderson for a second round of interviews with Fred, Saul and me,” Jeff Wilpon said in a statement released by the Mets. “Josh is scheduled for Monday and Sandy for Tuesday as we continue our search for the next General Manager of the Mets.
“John Ricco and I spoke personally with Allard Baird, Rick Hahn, Logan White and Dana Brown earlier today to thank them for their interest and taking the time to interview with us.”
Alderson, 62, was the A’s general manager when they won the World Series in 1989, and became one of the first front-office executives to focus on sabremetrics and advanced statistical research to help identify undervalued players.
He left for the commissioner’s office in 1998, where he served as vice president of operations until 2005, and spent time as the Padres’ chief executive officer. He is in charge of baseball’s efforts to reform operations in the Dominican Republic.
After working for the Indians and Rockies organizations, Byrnes spent time under Red Sox GM Theo Epstein before taking over the Diamondbacks in 2005. He was 35 when he was hired and considered one of the rising stars in baseball management. The club had the best record in the National League when it advanced to the NL Championship Series in 2007.
Arizona signed Byrnes to an extension through 2015, but things quickly unraveled. The team was in last place and 12½ games out of first when he was fired July 1.
With AP