The New York Mets are having a very difficult time finding a President of Baseball Operations or General Manager. As I wrote last night, while there are still candidates, all the big names the Mets were targeting have said no. And to the names I mentioned yesterday, you have to add Brandon Gomes (assistant GM with the Dodgers) among the people who asked not to be considered for the job.
Many said no, but in some cases, it was a potential candidate's team that said no first. That's what happened with the Blue Jays, as the Queen City team denied the Mets the right to talk to the club's president of baseball operations, Mark Shapiro, as reported by the New York Post.
Blue Jays Deny Mets' Request To Interview Mark Shapiro https://t.co/behbpRN7dk pic.twitter.com/3WcAzOb2SC
— MLB Trade Rumors (@mlbtraderumors) October 28, 2021
Marcus Stroman must be happy, as he did not get along well with the Jays' management, but obviously wants to stay with the Mets.
It would have been surprising to see Shapiro leave for New York. Why? Because he seems, by all accounts, to like his job as President of Baseball Operations in Toronto. He has turned the franchise around after the last few difficult years and seems to want to see the project through to the end after two interesting seasons (2020-2021).
He also just signed a five-year contract extension in Toronto earlier this year, which shows that the bosses have faith in him.
Plus, as Ben Nicholson-Smith explains, Shapiro is not just a president, but also a CEO. That means he has a leadership role not just in baseball, but in business.
What does that include? It includes managing the file for a potential new stadium in Toronto, a file that has been rumored over the past year.
And since the Mets probably wouldn't offer Shapiro such a big job/role, taking the President of Baseball Operations job would be a step backwards for the 54-year-old executive.
Interesting item via @KenDavidoff, @Joelsherman1 & @NYPost_Mets: Mets had interest in Mark Shapiro but Blue Jays denied permission for the Mets to speak to himShapiro recently signed an extension w Jays, is already team president here & has been vocal about enjoying Toronto https://t.co/Aq7xhUfGzi— Ben Nicholson-Smith (@bnicholsonsmith) October 28, 2021
So it's unclear whether it was Shapiro, who worked for 25 years in Cleveland before moving to Canada, who asked the Jays to say no to the Mets or whether the club's owners turned down the New York team's request without asking the president for his opinion. But the bottom line is that Shapiro is staying in an environment he seems to love instead of going to work for a Steve Cohen who does things...differently.
So the Mets will have to keep digging to find their man. Will they ask Blue Jays GM Ross Atkins?
