The New York Mets somehow found themselves in the middle of the sign-stealing scandal, and it cost them their manager. However, they did not take them long to find their new skipper.
At the end of the 2019 season, the New York Mets fired Mickey Callaway after failing to reach the postseason in his two season at the helm. With a talented, young roster, GM Brodie Van Wagenen and CEO Jeff Wilpon decided it was time to find a new leader to lead them back to glory.
Following an extensive search with many big name candidates, they decided to take a gamble and hire Carlos Beltrán, who had no previous managerial experience. Just two years removed from his playing career, Beltrán quickly became a hot managerial candidate across the league, even interviewing for the Yankees’ position in 2018.
Fans were excited to welcome Beltrán back into the Mets’ family, where he played from 2005-2011. Beltrán was known across the league as a well-respected professional with intrinsic knowledge on the functionality of the game. However, it turned out he might have had too much knowledge. Beltrán was found to be a key figure in the Astros’ sign-stealing scandal in 2017 as a player. Under immense pressure from both within and outside the Mets organization, Beltrán was relieved of his duties as the Mets’ skipper before managing a single game.
Thus, the Mets decided to look within their organization for Beltrán’s replacement. According to Anthony Dicomo of MLB.com, the Mets are finalizing a multi-year deal to make Luis Rojas their new manager. Rojas is a familiar face around the Mets’ clubhouse. He has been a coach in the Mets’ organization since 2007. He started in the Dominican Summer League, and worked his way up to managing the Mets’ double-A affiliate Binghamton Rumble Ponies in 2017-2018.
This past season, he was promoted to the big league squad as a “quality control” coach, which was a special position created for him. His primary role was to serve as the middle man between the coaching staff and the front office. At just 38 years old, Rojas has long been considered a rising talent within the organization. Furthermore, his experience as quality control coach familiarized him with all aspects of the Mets’ major league team, so there should be less drama between the coaching staff and the front office this season.
Luis Rojas also has baseball in his DNA, as he comes from a family of baseball royalty. His father is former player and manager Felipe Alou, and his older brother is six-time all star and former Met Moises Alou. Rojas’ playing career never made it past the minor leagues, but he is off to a excellent start to his managerial career.
It seems like the Mets always manage to get themselves caught up in drama somehow. However, they did the right thing to remove Beltrán before things got worse inside their organization. They replaced him with a beloved figure within their organization who is not likely to cause any drama both on the field and behind the scenes. While many thought Rojas was not ready to take the helm, the circumstances have called for him to step up into the role and lead a talented, young Mets team into a positive future.
For now, the New York Mets appear to have avoided another disaster. However, they are the Mets, so time will tell how Luis Rojas’ career as their manager will play out.