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Mets manager Terry Collins might be done in New York

Blake Schuster
Yahoo Sports Contributor

A disaster of a summer taking place in Queens is officially infecting the offseason.

The New York Daily News is reporting that the New York Mets are expecting manager Terry Collins to retire after this year. The 68-year-old Collins has been with New York since 2011, racking up 578 wins (and counting) along with a National League pennant and back-to-back trips to the playoffs.

Of course, as with most things Mets, it doesn’t look like it’s going to be a simple affair. The Daily News report claims Collins, whose contract is up after this season, isn’t sold on retirement just yet. Which could put general manager Sandy Alderson in the position of letting one of the most successful mangers in franchise history walk away to another team.

Barreling towards a finish in the bottom of the NL East this year, it’s not surprising New York is looking to go in a new direction — even though Collins isn’t at fault for the Mets’ failures. The club made the postseason just once in the decade before his arrival. This is still a team only two years removed from a World Series appearance with star talent like Yoenis Cespedes, Noah Syndergaard and Jacob deGrom on its roster. Which is to say a new approach could very well pry back open a rapidly-closing championship window.

New York Mets manager Terry Collins (10) watches from the dugout during the team’s game against the Atlanta Braves on Friday, Sept. 15, 2017, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/John Bazemore)
New York Mets manager Terry Collins (10) watches from the dugout during the team’s game against the Atlanta Braves on Friday, Sept. 15, 2017, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/John Bazemore)

The Daily News report cites sources with the Mets want someone “tech savvy” and who understands advanced analytics. St. Louis Cardinals manager Mike Matheny was brought up as an example.

And while it’s nice to see some in New York’s front office push for a modern approach to managing, the reality of baseball’s landscape may make its wish harder to fulfill.

That’s where the appeal of coaching in New York and the Mets’ roster comes in. If this is indeed the end of Collins’ tenure with New York, he’s leaving behind a team that was only a few wins away from a World Series in 2015, but with a horrific recent history of injuries that have all but drained their postseason momentum.

A change in manager may be the answer. It certainly wasn’t the problem.

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Blake Schuster is a writer for Big League Stew on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at blakeschuster@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!

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