Mets cut Zack Scott loose from front office, months after arrest
The Mets finally decided that they’re not bringing back embattled acting general manager Zack Scott, a team source confirmed Monday.
Scott was arrested for driving under the influence in White Plains on Aug. 31 and placed on leave by the Mets. The executive pleaded not guilty on Sept. 2 and is facing a trial in early December.
The news was first reported by SNY.
Owner Steve Cohen and team president Sandy Alderson had barely communicated with Scott since his arrest, as the Daily News reported last week. The franchise’s decision-makers, whoever that may be, had previously appeared content to wait until the outcome of Scott’s trial to make a decision on his future.
Scott made it less than a year with the Mets. He interviewed for the general manager position after the 2020 season, finishing as a runner-up to Jared Porter and accepting a consolation prize as assistant general manager in Queens after 17 years with the Red Sox. He was elevating to acting general manager after Jared Porter was fired for sexually harassing a reporter years earlier.
He oversaw a skeletal Mets front office in his eight-plus months in charge. At one point, the Mets had no assistant general managers under Scott. In July, Sandy Alderson’s son Bryn was among those promoted to assistant GM.
The search for a replacement for Scott, and a president of baseball operations above him, has been slow going. Cutting Scott loose could be an indication that the Mets have finally made progress after getting rebuffed by several top potential candidates to run the team.
Cohen has been running the search mostly himself, consulting with allies in finance and politics like Mets board member and former New Jersey governor Chris Christie, the News recently reported.
“We were surprised and deeply disappointed to learn this morning about an alleged DUI involving Zack Scott,” the Mets said in a statement in September after his arrest. “We take this matter very seriously.”
The team had commented very little on Scott’s arrest or his status since, with Alderson saying during the season that he had not talked to the executive much after his arrest.
[More Mets] Mets may have to face tough reality to keep Jacob deGrom healthy »
Scott had attended a function at Cohen’s house the night he was arrested, although White Plains cops found him parked and asleep behind the wheel nearly eight hours after he left the owner’s Connecticut house. He pleaded not guilty to driving under the influence and three other traffic violations. His license was suspended in New York state.
Scott’s lone year was a disappointment on the field, with the Mets going 77-85 after leading the NL East for months. Scott’s headlines were mostly the wrong kind, as he threw players under the bus for the Mets’ rash of injuries that helped derail their season.
““Most of the time, I’ll be honest, it’s compliance issues,” Scott said of the Mets’ disastrous run of injuries in August. “Following the plan. These are individuals that control their own bodies and sometimes they’re not as compliant as they should be.”
He was arrested three weeks later, sealing his fate with the team.
