Another day, another name to add to the New York Mets’ manager search.
The Athletic’s Jim Bowden believes the Mets should consider three candidates:
1. Buck Showalter based on success of comps like (Dusty) Baker and (Tony) LaRussa
2. Eduardo Perez based on success of (Aaron) Boone, (Alex) Cora and (David) Ross (incl Large market media background)
3. Joe Espada (paid dues)
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Perez, an analyst for ESPN since 2014, interviewed with the Mets in 2019 before New York hired Carlos Beltran. Before joining the Worldwide Leader, Perez was bench coach of the Houston Astros (2013) and hitting coach of the Miami Marlins (2011-12).
Before entering the coaching ranks, Perez played 13 MLB seasons, suiting up for the Los Angeles Angels, St. Louis Cardinals, Cincinnati Reds, Tampa Bay Rays, Cleveland Indians and Seattle Mariners.
Oh, and his father is Tony Pérez, a two-time World Series champion and National Baseball Hall of Famer.
Showalter endeared himself to New York Yankees fans this year as a studio analyst on YES Network. He managed the Yankees from 1992 to 1995, setting the stage for the late 1990s dynasty. Showalter later managed the Arizona Diamondbacks, Texas Rangers and Baltimore Orioles. In 20 years as a big-league skipper, he won 1,551 games.
Espada is the Astros bench coach. He was special assistant to Yankees general manager Brian Cashman in 2014. From 2015-17, Espada was the Yankees’ third base coach for Joe Girardi.
MLB Network’s Jon Heyman reports the “Mets have reached out to interview Astros bench coach Joe Espada. Has strong link to Billy Eppler from when they were both with Yankees. Serious contender.”
The New York Post’s Mike Puma reports “Buck Showalter and Matt Quatraro have both been contacted by the club, industry sources confirmed Monday, with Joe Espada, Brad Ausmus and Don Kelly comprising most, if not the remainder, of the candidates list, according to a source.”
MLB.com’s Anthony DiComo reports “Brad Ausmus, Joe Espada, Matt Quatraro and Buck Showalter are all expected to receive interviews for the Mets’ open managerial job, according to multiple sources familiar with the situation.”
Heyman also reports “Ausmus is believed to have interviewed (Monday) for the Mets manager job, via zoom — the leadoff man in the process that should move quickly (since it’s got the team’s total focus in the lockout). ... Quatraro is up next for Mets.”
Puma reports the candidates are first meeting with “Eppler and his staff, and owner Steve Cohen will meet with the finalists, with a hopeful resolution by the end of next week.”
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Mike Rosenstein may be reached at mrosenstein@njadvancemedia.com.
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