Andy Martino, SNY.tv | Twitter |
The Mets have not yet made a final determination of which candidates will advance to the second round of interviews for the GM/head of baseball operations job, but as they deliberate, several people both inside and outside the organization are advocating for longtime Texas and Milwaukee GM Doug Melvin.
Melvin, 66, carries a reputation vastly different from controversial Cardinals farm director Gary LaRocque.
Melvin is known as a consensus-builder, and is "open-minded," in the words of one significantly younger baseball official who is more analytically inclined.
While many fans seem to pine for a more contemporary candidate like Tampa Bay executive Chaim Bloom - an impulse that is certainly understandable in the Statcast era - people who know Melvin say that he would have no issue working with an analytics department and experimenting with new ideas.
The Mets are not commenting on this process, or even confirming that interviews have taken place. Melvin did not respond to a message.
Inside the offices at Citi Field, the current success of the Brewers is seen as a mark in Melvin's favor.
Although GM David Stearns acquired many key pieces, like Lorenzo Cain and Christian Yelich, Melvin built much of the organization's infrastructure. He also stole ace reliever Josh Hader from the Astros in the 2015 Carlos Gomez trade.
Under his stewardship, the Brewers reached the NLCS in 2011. Melvin transitioned into a senior advisor role for the Brewers shortly thereafter.
