Theo Epstein will not be making his way to Queens to work for the Mets, after all.
Following a year of speculation that he will eventually wind up working for the team as president of baseball operations (PBO), multiple reports on Wednesday indicated that he will no longer be an option for the Mets.
Per reports, Epstein spoke with Mets owner Steve Cohen where the two mutually agreed that the role would not be right for the 47-year-old — whose candidacy provided intrigue after he built championship teams with the Boston Red Sox in 2004 and Chicago Cubs in 2016 that ended lengthy World Series droughts.
Epstein was connected to the Mets last season but opted to take the 2021 season off. Speculation remains that he will look to join a team in more of an owner’s role.
Of known candidates, the Mets will still make a push to speak with Oakland Athletics executive vice president of baseball operations, Billy Beane, and Milwaukee Brewers president of baseball operations, David Stearns. The latter is deemed as the more unlikely candidate while Beane could potentially reunite with the Mets 41 years after being drafted by them.
Filling the PBO position is proving to be much more difficult than originally anticipated. Cohen and team president Sandy Alderson were unable to make a hire last year, which heaped more responsibilities on Alderson.
It’s just one of numerous vital roles that the Mets have to fulfill this offseason. They’ll also be in the market for a new general manager after Jared Porter and Zack Scott’s off-field problems, and a new manager after the team opted not to pick up the 2022 option of Luis Rojas’ contract.
