Mets GM candidates: With Billy Eppler gone, here are four top names to take over

The Mets have a clean slate at the top of their organization.

David Stearns was named the team's president of baseball operations on Monday. The team announced on Thursday that Billy Eppler had resigned as the team's general manager after two seasons in charge.

That opens another void, in addition to the manager, that Stearns will have to fill. With the new general manager vacancy present, here are some of the top names that could be on the Mets' radar as candidates:

James Click

The Astros hired Click as the team's general manager in 2020 in the wake of the team's sign-stealing scandal. Under Click's leadership, the Astros won the 2022 World Series, appeared in another and reached the American League Championhip Series in 2020.

Click was fired after turning down a one-year contract last season, joining the Blue Jays as vice president of baseball strategy last February.

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The Yale graduate wrote for Baseball Prospectus before being hired as the Rays as a director of baseball research and development, rising to vice president of baseball operations in 14 years in the organization.

Click's name was floated for the White Sox general manager opening before the team chose to go with an internal candidate in Chris Getz.

Randy Flores

The 48-year-old former major league pitcher has served as the Cardinals assistant general manager since the fall of 2018. He has overseen the Cardinals scouting department and amateur draft as the team's director of scouting since August 2015.

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The left-hander, who spent eight seasons as a relief pitcher in the MLB, winning a World Series with the Cardinals in 2006, has a strong handle on pitching. He served as the University of Southern California's pitching coach in 2013 and founded a sports media technology company.

Some of Flores' top draft selections include Jordan Walker, Masyn Winn, Dylan Carlson, Harrison Bader and Jordan Hicks.

Carlos Rodriguez

With the fourth-lowest payroll in Major League Baseball, the Rays continued to defy logic with a 99-win season in 2023. In the process, they reached the playoffs for the fifth straight season.

One of the architects behind that rise is Rodriguez, who transitioned to Rays vice president, assistant general manager ahead of this season. He joined the Rays as a professional and international scout in 2010 before rising to director of international scouting between 2015 and 2019.

Prior to becoming the vice president and assistant general manager, Rodriguez was vice president of baseball operations and two seasons as vice president, player development and international scouting.

Ben Sestanovich

The Mets seem to be consistently hunting the Braves in the NL East, so why not pry one of their top evaluators? Sestanovich has served as the Braves assistant general manager of player development since December 2019.

Previoiously, Sestanovich spent a decade with the Padres, working as an advance scout and rising to director of player development.

Sestanovich has something in common with Stearns that they both attended Harvard. Stestanovich pitched for the Crimson between 2008 and 2011.

This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: NY Mets GM candidates: Four names that could fill Billy Eppler's spot