Following the 2019 season, the Mets were looking to replace failed first-time manager Mickey Callaway.
And before they chose to hire former All-Star center fielder Carlos Beltran, former big-league player, coach and current ESPN analyst Eduardo Perez was a serious finalist for the job.
In the end, Beltran was fired two months after accepting the Mets' managerial position when his role in the Astros’ sign stealing scandal was revealed. But New York never reached back out to Perez. Instead, they promoted Luis Rojas, who was an additional finalist and already on their coaching staff at the time.
Now, a little over two years later, Rojas is out and the Mets are in the process of searching for a new manager for the fourth time in the last five seasons.
However, Perez is not in the running, as the team never contacted him. But that's just fine, as Perez, 52, is happy with his gig at ESPN, and is focused on thriving in his current role as a broadcast analyst with the network.
Regardless, that didn’t stop him from sharing a few sentiments regarding some of the Mets’ top candidates in the race, who Perez has grown close with over the several decades he has spent around the game.
First up was Joe Espada, the Astros bench coach whom Perez goes all the way back to his playing days with.
“I know him really well. We coached together with the Marlins and I managed against him in Puerto Rico," Perez told Inside the Mets on Wednesday. "He was also on my team in Puerto Rico when we were players."
In addition to interviewing for the Mets' vacancy, Espada also spoke with the Oakland Athletics about their managerial role as well. Espada, 46, was selected by the A's at No. 45 overall in the 1996 MLB Draft. The A's signed Espada to his first contract, but things didn't work out as he bounced around to a few more teams over the years, before retiring following the 2005 season without ever reaching the majors.
After hanging up his cleats as a player, Espada began his coaching career in the Marlins' system in 2006. Five-years later, he and Perez were reunited on the Marlins' big-league coaching staff, where they spent two seasons together from 2011-2012.
Espada was a special assistant to Yankees general manager Brian Cashman and assistant GM Billy Eppler in 2014, who is now the Mets' GM. Espada then joined the Yankees' coaching staff for three seasons before heading to Houston where he has been their bench coach since 2018.
While Espada has been a hot name in the Mets' managerial search, Buck Showalter is seen as the current favorite to land the job. And Perez knows Showalter very well from their days at ESPN together and grew close to him while sharing a studio.
Beyond these two candidates, the Mets have also interviewed Brad Ausmus, Matt Quatraro, Don Kelly (bowed out), Bob Geren and Clayton McCullough.
And whoever they pick, Perez believes there isn't a wrong choice in the group.
“It’ll be interesting to see if they go with the veteran guy in Showalter, or if they decide to go with Espada or Ausmus, Geren or Quatraro," said Perez. "But I don’t think you can go wrong with any of these baseball guys.”
In the end, Perez feels that there are some essential characteristics when it comes to being a manager in today's game, and he was kind enough to outline them for us.
“I just think you better have people skills right now and you better know the temperature of the city and the fan-base and what to say and what not to say and be honest with the media," Perez said. "Managing is not really about the X’s and O’s. If you look at today’s analytics, they are going to dictate what’s going to go on.
"It’s about managing the personalities," he said. "How can you get that player in his car wanting to go to the ballpark and not wanting to stay at home with his family? That’s what It’s about. If you want to get to the ballpark, you are going to exceed expectations. If you don’t want to get to the ballpark, you are never going to meet expectations - especially in New York."
Perez told me he learned this philosophy about managing from his father's Hall of Fame manager Sparky Anderson and the great Pete Rose. Perez of course, is the son of Hall of Famer Tony Perez, who was a star on the Cincinnati Reds during their back-to-back World Series Championship seasons in the 70's. The elder Perez was a seven-time All-Star, two-time World Series winner and has his No. 24 retired with the Reds.
Fortunately for Perez, he was raised by a Hall of Famer and grew up around some of the all-time greats, which allows him to see the game in a different light.
While managing isn't something that would "complete" his career at this point, it definitely isn't a possibility that he'd ever rule out.
Down the line, Perez would love to see more minorities and ex-players receive opportunities to work in a front office, and that is another area he says cannot be ruled out for him in the future.
But for now, he has tunnel vision towards perfecting his craft as a broadcaster and analyst, and he is enjoying every second of it while not taking any moment for granted.
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