After a month-long search for a new general manager, the Mets reportedly have their man. According to multiple outlets, the team is on the precipice of hiring Diamondbacks senior vice president/assistant GM Jared Porter, replacing Brodie Van Wagenen as New York’s next general manager. Jon Heyman of MLB Network had reported Friday the Mets were nearing a decision, whittling the field down to four top candidates. Other finalists for the job included Red Sox assistant GM Zack Scott, A’s assistant GM/Director of Player Personnel Billy Owens and former Marlins president and general manager Michael Hill.
Described by ESPN’s Jeff Passan as a “jack-of-all trades,” Porter is an alum of both the Red Sox and Cubs’ front offices, where he worked under top exec Theo Epstein. Porter has experience in multiple roles, though his background is in scouting. Prior to joining the Mets, Porter was also under consideration for the general manager opening in Chicago. Jed Hoyer had previously held that position, but was recently promoted to Cubs president of baseball operations, replacing Epstein last month.
Porter joins an overhauled Mets staff that looks much different than the one Steve Cohen inherited when he bought the team from longtime owner Fred Wilpon earlier this offseason. Among Cohen’s first orders of business was cleaning house in the front office, mercifully pulling the plug on New York’s failed Van Wagenen experiment. A former agent who represented clients such as Jacob deGrom and Yoenis Cespedes, Van Wagenen buried the Mets with overly ambitious trades (dealing prized prospect Jarred Kelenic for Robinson Cano, now serving his second PED suspension, and erratic reliever Edwin Diaz was not his best work) and botched free-agent signings like one-and-done starter Rick Porcello and injury catastrophe Jed Lowrie.
Serving as a first-time general manager in MLB, especially in as big a market as New York, is a daunting assignment. Luckily for Porter, the mentoring presence of team president Sandy Alderson, now in his second stint with the Mets, should help ease that transition. The Mets have already made their stamp on free agency, nabbing an upper-echelon reliever in Trevor May while upgrading the catcher position with highly-regarded vet James McCann. It would be a disappointment if the Mets stopped there, though their heavy interest in former Astros leadoff man George Springer and right-handed ace Trevor Bauer would suggest New York’s offseason pursuits are far from over.
Response to Porter’s hiring has been largely positive, eliciting praise from former pitcher Dan Haren (now a member of the Diamondbacks’ front office) and D’Backs radio voice Mike Ferrin, among others.
Not a bad Saturday to be a Mets fan.
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