Steve Cohen looking for new Mets president of baseball operations to work with GM Billy Eppler
The Mets have operated without a president of baseball operations for a few seasons now, but owner Steve Cohen is ready to begin a search to fill that role.
After the hires of Jared Porter and Zack Scott during the 2020-21 offseason did not work out and Billy Eppler was hired as the team’s general manager a year later to make the baseball decisions Cohen made it clear to reporters Wednesday afternoon that he’s still looking for the right person for the job.
"I've been clear from day one that I'm still looking for a president of baseball ops. Billy knows, I've had that conversation with him - he's supportive,” Cohen said. “This is a really complex job and it’s a lot on one person. We have people under Billy, but from a leadership standpoint, that’s still out there. At some point we will fill that position. Billy will be a part of that, at that point I’ve enhanced the management team and that’s the goal.
“The biggest mistake you can make is to hire someone and set the organization back five years, 10 years. I’ve been waiting and at some point we’ll hire someone.”
The Mets (36-43) have not met preseason expectations as they entered Wednesday 16.5 games behind the Atlanta Braves for the NL East lead and 8.5 games for the third and final Wild Card spot.
Despite the record, Cohen remains patient and committed to Eppler and manager Buck Showalter. That strategy is also how he figures to lure this president of baseball operations to the Mets.
“I’m a patient guy. Everybody wants a headline. Everybody says ‘Fire this person, fire that person,’ but I don’t see that as a way to operate,” Cohen said. “If you want to attract good people to this organization, the worst thing you can do is be impulsive and win the headline of the day. You’re not going to attract the best talent, because they’re not going to want to work with somebody who has a short fuse. I know fans want something to happen, I get it. But sometimes you can’t do it because you have long-term objectives. That’s the way it is.”
Cohen added, “If you want to hire great talent, they just don’t show up. I’ve been patient because I do not want to make a mistake, and so I can’t tell you if it’s gonna be this year. I don’t know. Is it gonna be next year? I don’t know. But at some point, that’s gonna happen.”
Eppler has received a lot of criticism this season for the Mets’ lackluster first three months of the season. His roster construction has been under scrutiny and even he acknowledged his failure when he met with the media on Tuesday.
But as Cohen said, baseball decisions are tough for one person to manage, and while whoever he hires as the new president of baseball operations will be above Eppler, he envisions the role as a more collaborative effort between the two.
“In the end these are titles. These are working relationships. The responsibilities will be divvied up,” he explained.
It’s unclear who Cohen has in mind for the position. Although there are plenty of names out there like Theo Epstein and former Milwaukee Brewers president of baseball operations David Stearns -- who Cohen didn’t pursue last offseason when Stearns stepped down -- the Mets owner made it clear he didn’t want to hire a “rookie.”
“I don’t want a rookie doing this. We’ve got a solid infrastructure in place, solid management. So we want to bring someone in who is complementary,” he said. “I want someone who can come into this organization and hit the ground running and not create conflict. I’m taking my time. Hopefully, I find the right person. If I don’t find the right person this year, I’ll wait.”
