As the Mets continue to ascend into their search for a president of baseball operations, one main target seems unlikely at this point.
And this of course, is Milwaukee's David Stearns, who has turned the Brewers into a sustainable winner that has now made the postseason in four consecutive seasons.
When asked about his possible departure, Stearns hinted at his future plans, which wasn't the answer the Mets could've hoped for.
"Consistent with how I’ve handled those questions in the past, I think I’ll shy away from any media or external speculation other than to say I’m happy here; my family is happy here. And we’ve got work to do here," Stearns told reporters on Friday, October 15.
At this point, you can probably cross Stearns' name off the Mets' list entirely. This comes as no surprise, as the Mets were already denied permission to interview Stearns for the same role last year after Steve Cohen initially bought the team.
MLB Insider Jon Heyman also went as far to say Stearns' chances of coming to the Mets are close to none. According to Heyman, Stearns has another year left on his deal and his contract may include an option for 2023 as well.
As Heyman went onto note, there is no official word on the possibility of Oakland's Billy Beane joining the Mets. At this point, Heyman says the Mets' shortlist of candidates may need to grow.
Earlier in the week, SNY's John Harper spoke to two long-time friends of Beane, who said the front office architect is very much open to the idea of running the Mets' baseball operations department.
Beane's idea would be to hire a general manager beneath him to handle the day-to-day tasks of the job. Not to mention, the Athletics appear destined to move from Oakland to Las Vegas in the near future due to disputes with their current city over their desire to build a new stadium.
Regardless of when this occurs, the writing is on the wall for the A's to move locations, which could be enough for Beane to depart.
If this does not prove to be the case and Beane stays put with the A's, Los Angeles Dodgers vice president of baseball operations Josh Byrnes could emerge as the favorite to land the POBO job with the Mets.
Beyond Byrnes, the Mets are going to have to extend their list even further if Stearns is truly out, and Beane uncertain.
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