The Mets' search for a manager appears to be down to three candidates, all in-house.
According to SNY's Andy Martino, the Mets are choosing between quality-control coach Luis Rojas, first-base coach Tony DeFrancesco and bench coach Hensley Meulens. Martino added that another candidate could emerge, "but I don't see it."
Sources: Mets managerial search is now down to Rojas, Meulens and DeFranceso. Suppose there's always chance of a late entrant but I don't see it. They see benefits of going internal.
— Andy Martino (@martinonyc) January 22, 2020The Mets are looking for a last-minute replacement for Carlos Beltran, who was hired in November but mutually parted ways with the team last week after being named in Major League Baseball's report on the Astros' 2017 sign-stealing scheme. Pitchers and catchers are set to report to spring training Feb. 12.
Rojas and DeFrancesco interviewed for the job last fall.
Rojas, 38, is entering his 14th season in the Mets organization and has spent eight years as a minor league manager. He was named quality-control coach last season, which, according to the team's website, serves as "a conduit between the front office and coaching staff on all issues including game preparation, strategy and analytics."
Rojas is the son of longtime player and manager Felipe Alou and the brother of former Met Moises Alou.
DeFrancesco, 56, has 25 years of minor-league managerial experience, including the last two seasons with the Mets' Triple-A affiliates in Las Vegas and Syracuse. He also served as the Houston Astros' interim manager for 41 games in 2012 after Brad Mills was fired. A Suffern native and Seton Hall product, DeFrancesco played nine seasons as a catcher in the minors but never reached the big leagues.
Meulens, 52, served on Bruce Bochy's San Francisco Giants staff from 2010 until last year. He was the team's hitting coach for eight seasons before moving to the bench in 2018 and helped the Giants win three World Series.
He also has extensive coaching experience in the minor leagues, fall and winter leagues and international competition. After the 2017 season, he interviewed for the Yankees managerial job that eventually went to Aaron Boone.
Meulens played for the Yankees from 1989-93 and also briefly played for the Expos and Diamondbacks. In 182 major league games spread out over seven seasons, the former outfielder hit .220 with 15 home runs.
