Prior to team owners imposing a lockout late Wednesday night, there had been a flurry of activity in MLB free agency.
The New York Mets were at the forefront of it, signing Max Scherzer, Starling Marte, Eduardo Escobar and Mark Canha for a combined total value of over $250 million. With all player activity now halted for the foreseeable future, the Mets figure to turn their attention to hiring a new manager.
The organization has assembled a preliminary list of candidates that reportedly includes Houston Astros bench coach Joe Espada and veteran manager Buck Showalter. A new name recently emerged in former Los Angeles Dodgers outfielder Curtis Granderson, who spent parts of four seasons with the Mets from 2014-17.
The three-time All-Star is one of the most respected voices among his peers and seemingly would be a good fit, but isn’t believed to be interested in taking the job, per Jon Heyman of MLB Network:
Granderson is an inspired thought but word is he’s not interested. He’s Players Alliance president, has TBS job and is heavily involved in charity. Plus, he made $100M plus playing and presumably doesn’t need the headaches. For those scoring at home, this isn’t a Mets rejection. https://t.co/I8YIYVDn1S
— Jon Heyman (@JonHeyman) December 4, 2021
After stints with the Detroit Tigers and New York Yankees, Granderson joined the Mets on a four-year contract after the 2013 season. In 513 games with New York, he hit .239/.341/.444 with 106 doubles, 95 home runs and 247 RBI over 2,364 plate appearances.
The Mets traded Granderson to the Dodgers in August 2017, but he struggled to the tune of a .161 batting average in 36 games and was left off their World Series roster that year.
Kingston declined interview with Mets for GM opening
Before their recent hiring of Billy Eppler as general manager, the Mets reportedly were interested in interviewing Dodgers vice president and assistant general manager Jeff Kingston for the position.
Kingston, however, declined and will remain with L.A. The Mets’ search also extended to Dodgers assistant general manager Brandon Gomes, but he passed on the opportunity to interview as well.
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