New York Mets should pass on Carlos Beltran, go all-in on Joe Girardi

With the firing of Callaway, New York Mets must be cautious about who they should hire, and this includes Carlos Beltran, especially with Joe Girardi in the equation.

The New York Mets certainly have a lot of buzz around the new vacancy of the manager position after the firing of Mickey Callaway. They have interviews lined up with former New York Yankees manager, Joe Girardi, the current Special Advisor for the Yankees and former Met, Carlos Beltran and Mike Bell who is currently Arizona Diamondbacks Vice President of Player Development. With these interviews lined up and more to come, the Mets must keep in mind that the next manager needs to fit their “win now” mentality.

What I mean by fitting into that mentality is that the next manager needs to have significant league experience from the managing position. They cannot afford to take yet another risk from someone who may need to have a year or two to form into the role. They need someone who has been there before and can contribute right away.

With guys like Beltran interviewing for the role, it is way too much of a risk for the Mets to take. It may be a good feel good hiring to trigger some nostalgia, and he was undoubtedly a great Met for the seven years he was in New York, but outside of his Special Advisor role with the Yankees, Beltran has no experience on how to manage a team. If Beltran were to work up to that role, such as starting as a bench coach and getting a feel on how to properly manage a team and connect with players, maybe in a few years, he could form into an effective manager.

We saw this with Alex Cora, who started as the bench coach with the Houston Astros. He was able to absorb what it takes to be a good manager from A.J Hinch, and it made him a good fit once he started as the manager for the Red Sox, leading them to another World Series title in 2018. The Mets are in a much better place then they were two years ago, and having someone like Beltran could apprehend their chances of being contenders this year.

When the Mets hired Mickey Callaway in 2017, he took on the Mets in a bad situation. Coming off a 72-90 record, he had a year to try to transform the team into contenders, and when he left the team, they finished 86-76 and full of potential. Now one of the big pieces that can certainly put them over that hill is an experienced manager.  The Mets certainly have some people interested who have some big-time managerial experience such as Joe Girardi and Buck Showalter, who was intrigued by the Mets vacancy role.

Joe Girardi is the biggest name for the Mets so far, and he would be the perfect fit for this team. Girardi managed the Yankees from 2008-2017 and knew how to manage a team in the New York Market. He essentially would be the perfect fit for this Mets team. The New York Yankees General Manager Brian Cashman highly recommending Girardi to the Mets, stating is given the Mets instant credibility.  The year he was fired, Girardi was one win away from bringing the Yankees to the 2017 World Series, his abilities certainly did not diminish when his time was winding down in the Bronx.

Alongside with the improvement of players who did not live up to expectations, and signing of key free agents, this next managerial decision for the Mets is a crucial one, and it can certainly make or break their season. They need someone who has the resume and can help contribute right away so they won’t waste another year with the talent the Mets have on their roster.