Sandy Alderson: Mets settling for GM, actively considering 'several' candidates

CARLSBAD, Calif. — The Mets’ embattled quest for a general manager took another turn Tuesday with a revelation from team president Sandy Alderson: The new hire would receive a one-year commitment as the top baseball executive, and after that the Mets might look to hire someone more experienced above him, depending on how that year goes.

"Assuming we only hire one person [this offseason], there'd be at least a year runway for that person to demonstrate their ability and their potential," Alderson said during the first full day of the GM meetings, at which he is leading the Mets’ otherwise leaderless contingent of executives. "That’s the opportunity. That’s all you can ask for. Demonstrated ability tends to get rewarded."

Speaking publicly for the first time since late September, Alderson said the Mets are planning to add a lone front-office head honcho — a probably younger GM, not a more accomplished president of baseball operations — and are actively considering "several" candidates. He didn’t want to say how much longer this search, already into its sixth week, might take.

"I don’t want to give you a timeline," he said. "We’ve already blown through what most people would say is a reasonable timeline. But we’ll see what happens toward the end of the week."

Among the Mets’ candidates, a source said, is former Nationals assistant general manager Adam Cromie, who has worked for Jones Day, a prestigious law firm, since leaving Washington in March 2017. Although he specializes in mergers and acquisitions and is based in Pittsburgh, Cromie has stayed involved in his previous industry by representing "several sports franchises in arbitration proceedings," according to Jones Day’s website.

Alderson does not plan to interview any possible GMs while on site this week, he said. But he will chat with some of those who already have been ruled out, a necessity given the nature of the proceedings, with most of the top executives from every team staying at the same resort.

It is that long list of former candidates — people the Mets were not allowed to interview, people who didn’t want the job, people the Mets decided weren’t the answer — that has defined their offseason. This is the same path they took last year, when they sought a president of baseball operations, failed and settled on a GM.

"I’m not happy about the narrative," Alderson said. "On the other hand, looking at the organization from within as opposed to from without, I’m very pleased with where we’re going."

Regarding why the Mets have been shot down by so many would-be candidates, Alderson blamed a "reluctance" on their part to come to New York, trying to deflect from the idea that there is something unattractive about the Mets or working for owner Steve Cohen.

"There’s no tanking in New York," Alderson said. "It’s always a competition. It’s always a desire to win. There’s lots of factors that come into play. But I would say it’s not unforgiving, but it’s a demanding place. Which I enjoy, by the way.

"If you're looking to be comfortable, the Mets are probably not the place to come. If you're looking to be challenged and rewarded, [do come]. Because I don't think there's any doubt that this team is going to be successful over the next X number of years."

As for other concerns, perceived or real, from potential hires:

- Autonomy considering Alderson runs the organization? "I don’t really see that as an issue," he said. "If it’s an issue — and I’ve talked to people, we talk through it. I really don’t think that’s an issue."

- And the presence of Bryn Alderson, Sandy’s son, as an assistant GM? "I really think that’s a red herring. For example, in this search, he has no idea who we’re talking to or have talked to," the elder Alderson said. "I expect him, as well as anybody else in the organization, to be loyal to and work hard for whoever comes in."

- Or the uncertainty of working for Cohen, still something of an unknown as an owner? "That’s a fair comment, and so I wouldn’t completely dismiss that, no," Alderson said. "But it’s something that we continue to address and have addressed with people that we talk to."

"We’re going to come up with somebody," Alderson insisted, "that we’re going to be very happy with."