Just when you thought the Mets were going to have to look to an unproven candidate to take over the reigns of their baseball operations department, one long-time executive says not so fast.
His name is Brian Sabean, and he helped construct the San Francisco Giants' dynasty last decade, where they won three World Series championships.
Sabean took over as the Giants general manager in 1996, and proceeded to lead them to eight straight winning seasons from 1997-2004.
After enduring four straight losing seasons from 2005-2008, Sabean's contract was extended in the wake of an 88-win campaign in 2009. But the best was yet to come for the Giants' GM, who then built three World Series winning teams in 2010, 2012 and 2014.
In 2015, Sabean was promoted to executive vice president of baseball operations in San Francisco. But in 2018, he took a step back and has been working as a special assistant in the Giants organization ever since.
Now, according to Deesha Thosar of The New York Daily News, Sabean is "willing and excited" to be considered for the Mets current president of baseball operations opening.
But beyond these expressions of positive emotion, Thosar provided specific details supporting the 65-year-old's interest.
"A source close to Sabean confirmed to the Daily News that he very much would like another challenge in his life," wrote Thosar. "He’s going stir crazy in San Francisco with essentially nothing to do (in the role of a special assistant) with the Giants. But the real attraction for Sabean would be the fact that it’s New York and it’s the Mets, the source said.
"Unlike Billy Beane, who was reluctant to uplift his family and roots from the West Coast to New York City, the source close to Sabean said he would do it in a heartbeat if the Mets offered him the job."
Sabean spent 18-years as the Giants GM, which is the longest run at this position in team history. His track record is highly impressive and pretty much everything he has touched has turned to gold in his career.
Sabean started off as a scout for the Yankees in 1985, before getting promoted to director of scouting the following year.
By 1990, Sabean was elevated to Yankees' vice president of player development/scouting and either drafted or signed franchise greats Derek Jeter, Mariano Rivera, Jorge Posada and Andy Pettitte, who are better known as the "core four."
Sabean already turned a dysfunctional Giants organization into perennial winners, and the Mets are in desperate need of an experienced candidate who can do just that. In fact, the Giants posted winning campaigns in 13 out of 18 seasons when Sabean served as GM.
While it is unknown whether Mets owner Steve Cohen and president Sandy Alderson have contacted Sabean, his interest and résumé make him a no brainer for the job.
If Sabean joins the Mets, this could pave the way for a reunion with future Hall of Famer Bruce Bochy to take over as manager. As Alderson has previously stated, the new president of baseball operations will be able to bring in his own coaching staff.
Bochy last managed in 2019, but the belief is the 66-year-old is looking to come out of retirement for one last ride. Bochy was the manager of the Giants when they captured their three World Series championships in the 2010's.
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