The New York Mets are in need of a new general manager after terminating GM Jared Porter not long after he was hired to be Sandy Alderson's top lieutenant under new owner Steve Cohen. Porter was fired soon after after acknowledging in a report by ESPN's Mina Kimes and Jeff Passan that he sent unsolicited sexually explicit images to a female reporter in 2016 while working in the Cubs' front office.
Cohen acted swiftly in firing Porter hours after his actions came to light:
We have terminated Jared Porter this morning . In my initial press conference I spoke about the importance of integrity and I meant it.There should be zero tolerance for this type of behavior.
— Steven Cohen (@StevenACohen2) January 19, 2021
Alderson said Tuesday that the Mets are not going to hire a replacement for Porter in the short-term. But whenever the team does decide to hire a new GM, the Mets could return to the particulars of the search they just completed before hiring Porter. As such, the other finalists are likely to re-emerge as candidates. Here's a quick look at how things might play out.
The clear frontrunner: Zack Scott
This would make for the most seamless transition. That's because Scott was a finalist for the GM job and wound up being hired as an assistant GM under Porter. That means he's already been working in the upper reaches of the Mets' front office for a few weeks. As well, according to some accounts of the search process Scott was the runner-up to Porter.
Scott, 43, spent the prior 17 years working in the Red Sox's front office, during which time he became steeped in analytics -- which is very much a priority skill for highly placed MLB execs these days -- as well as cutting his teeth under Theo Epstein for some of those years.
Again, Scott is already part of the organization, and his dossier is such that the Mets gave serious consideration to hiring him as GM in the first place. Since he was hired in December, that means Scott also played a role in the Mets' recent major roster decisions -- meaning, most especially, the trade for superstar shortstop Francisco Lindor. Given all that, it would be a surprise if he didn't ascend to the role as Porter's replacement.
The other candidates
The remaining reported finalists for the GM job were Michael Hill, former president of the Marlins, and Billy Owens, assistant GM of the A's.
Hill, who turns 50 in March, spent more than two decades with the Marlins, but the two sides parted ways following the 2020 season despite the fact that Miami made the playoffs. Most recently, Hill had served as president of baseball operations with the Marlins, which means he had served in a loftier role than any of his fellow finalists for the Mets' GM job.
Owens, 49, played parts of seven season in the minors and has a scouting background. Thanks to his years with the A's, he's also adept at blending analytics into that scouting background. Owens also worked previously with Alderson just prior to the latter's return to the Mets. Without question, Owens has the strongest background of any of the candidates for the GM job.
Given that the Mets still have designs on making another splash addition this winter -- George Springer or Trevor Bauer, for instance -- a swift decision seems likely.
