Heyman: Billy Beane on Mets’ Radar to Run Baseball Operations

According to Jon Heyman of MLB Network, Oakland Athletics Vice President of Baseball Operations Billy Beane is on the New York Mets radar for their front office opening.

Ken Rosenthal of the Athletic also released an article this morning mentioning that a Beane and manager Bob Melvin duo would make a ton of sense for the Mets this offseason.

It is not yet known if Beane would consider leaving Oakland, or if he’d be willing to give up his 4% ownership stake in the Athletics. 

However, one factor you have to consider is the relationship between Beane and current Mets Team President Sandy Alderson.

As Rosenthal notes, Beane almost certainly would want to reunite with Alderson, his original mentor in Oakland. Melvin, whom has worked with him for 11 seasons, would certainly want to follow.

While this does seem like a bit of a long-shot, it is absolutely a very interesting scenario to consider.

Oakland’s Opening Day payroll has averaged about 27th out of 30th in baseball, and they’ve made the playoffs in six of the previous nine seasons.

It’s certainly fun to think about what Beane and a GM of his choice could do with a much larger payroll in New York.

If he were to leave the Bay Area for the Big Apple, Beane’s baseball career would come full circle.

The Mets selected Beane with the 23rd pick of the 1980 MLB Draft. He was recently featured in the ESPN 30 for 30 ‘Once Upon a Time in Queens.’

The outfielder never lived up to his potential, and appeared in just 13 games with the Mets at the big league level before being traded.

Beane spent time with the Twins, Tigers, and Athletics. Prior to the 1990 season he was sent to minor league camp but approached Alderson and asked for a job as a scout.

Alderson gave him the chance, and from there Beane took off and became one of the more successful executives in the game.

Melvin has his own connections to New York as well. The skipper played for the Yankees during the 1994 season and was a scout for the Mets for two seasons.

He is a veteran, three-time Manager of the Year winner, and would certainly be an upgrade over Luis Rojas.

As I said above, this really does seem like a bit of a long-shot scenario for Cohen and the Mets, but it is certainly an interesting one to consider.

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