Permission to talk to GM candidates an issue

The dawn of the post-Omar Minaya era opened with the Mets placing calls around the league in the search for the next general manager. But a team official said Tuesday that they had not yet received permission to speak with potential candidates nor had any interviews been scheduled.

One early obstacle surfaced, however, as the Miami Herald reported that the Marlins are not likely to allow the Mets to interview assistant GM Dan Jennings, one of their initial targets. President of baseball operations Larry Beinfest and GM Michael Hill also would be off limits. The Herald reported the Mets had asked for permission - a claim that the Mets refused to confirm.

It's not surprising that Florida would prevent Jennings, a highly regarded talent evaluator, from jumping to a division rival, especially one with a much bigger payroll and willingness to spend. In most cases, a team won't stand in the way of a promotion. But the Marlins, as a club always trying to do more with less, may view Jennings as indispensable.

A number of the Mets' possible choices will need permission to interview, from White Sox assistant GM Rick Hahn to John Hart, who is a commentator for MLB Network but also is employed as a senior adviser for the Rangers.

Getting permission is not always as easy as it sounds. If the Mets ask another club about one of their employees, that team must file a form with the commissioner's office, which then works with the Mets to arrange an interview during a seven-day window. If that time expires, then another window must be set up.

That responsibility falls to assistant GM John Ricco, who was kept on board as the interim replacement for Minaya and is expected to remain in the front office for the new administration. Ricco also is in charge of whatever contractual work must be handled during this time, so it's not like the Mets have shut down operations until the next GM is hired.

As Jeff Wilpon, the Mets' chief operating officer, explained Monday, they expect to do plenty of listening during the first round of interviews, and probably won't make a hire until the second time through the shortened list of candidates. The Wilpons already had narrowed their list from roughly 32 to seven before making calls Tuesday, but they described no specific characteristics about what the team wants in a new GM, though Jeff Wilpon spoke about the job in general terms.

"I think they can look to be more creative in how you can move certain pieces and how you can put this thing back together," he said. "Whether that's quick or long, I can't tell you until we hear what their ideas are because if we had the ideas, we'd be putting them in place. But we don't have the ideas."

Wilpon assures Wright. Jeff Wilpon and John Ricco called a number of Mets players after Monday's shake-up to let them know what was going on, and in the course of those conversations, according to a Mets official, Wilpon spoke to David Wright about the hypothetical trade talk at the end of Monday's news conference. A reporter asked Wilpon if he could "imagine" trading Wright, and the COO replied: "I can't imagine it. But again, if you're going to listen to the new GM, and he's going to tell you it will bring back five pieces or something, then I guess you have to listen to it. I'm not saying we're going to do it, but you have to listen."

Wilpon told Wright not to worry; the third baseman was unfazed by the comments.