METERIALIZE
Short list to be Amazin’s manager comes into focus
The list of finalists for the Mets’ vacant managerial seat is taking shape.
Joe Girardi, Carlos Beltran, Eduardo Perez and Tim Bogar are among the callbacks, as the team looks to hire Mickey Callaway’s replacement perhaps within the week.
The Post reported Sunday the Mets have asked permission from the Yankees to interview Beltran a second time. The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal first reported the team’s plans to interview Girardi, Perez and Bogar again. It is still unclear if there will be additional finalists. Eight names had emerged through the weekend as candidates for the job.
Girardi, the only known candidate with major league managing experience, will receive a second interview with the Phillies on Monday for their opening, according to a source. Buck Showalter and Dusty Baker are the other reported finalists for that job. The 55-year-old Girardi, who guided the Yankees to their last World Series title in 2009, has also interviewed with the Cubs.
There have been questions whether “collaboration” — an important buzzword in general manager Brodie Van Wagenen’s vocabulary — is part of Girardi’s game, as the front office expects to have significant input in how the game is managed.
Beltran, a special assistant with the Yankees, had an initial interview with Van Wagenen before the start of the ALCS.
Beltran has advocates in assistant GM Allard Baird and special assistant Omar Minaya, each of whom has a long relationship with the former All-Star outfielder. Baird was an executive with the Royals when Beltran was drafted by Kansas City in 1995. Ten years later as Mets GM, Minaya gave Beltran a seven-year contract worth $119 million.
After helping the Astros win the World Series in 2017, his last season as a player, Beltran was considered for the Yankees managerial opening that went to Aaron Boone. That Beltran has survived this long in the Mets managerial search indicates he has reached a truce with team owner Fred Wilpon and COO Jeff Wilpon, with whom he feuded in the latter portion of his Mets career. Beltran indicated last week that he only wanted to be considered for the Mets managerial job and had turned down opportunities to interview for other openings.
Perez, whose father Tony is a Hall of Fame first baseman, has spent the past six years as an ESPN analyst after serving as Astros bench coach in 2013. The 50-year-old Perez is wellregarded for his communication skills and grasp of analytics.
Bogar, who played for the Mets from 1993-96, is the Nationals first base coach and expected to receive his callback interview Thursday on the travel day of the World Series.
The known candidates besides Girardi, Beltran, Perez and Bogar are Luis Rojas, Mike Bell, Derek Shelton and Skip Schumaker.
In addition to the Mets, Phillies, Cubs and Pirates, the Padres, Giants and Royals are searching for new managers. The Angels hired Joe Maddon to fill their vacancy last week.
With the new wave of interviews planned, it appears the Mets may not announce their new hire before next Monday — the second scheduled travel day of the World Series. Teams are discouraged by MLB from making significant announcements on game days during the World Series. Of course, if the World Series runs short the Mets could announce a hire by the weekend.