LUIS OUT ON DAY 1
Mets say goodbye to great guy whose team went downhill in second half
The Mets did not pick up the option on Luis Rojas for the 2022 season, the team announced on Monday afternoon following its failed 2021 season. Rojas will not return as manager, but the Mets offered him the opportunity to remain in the organization in a yet-to-be determined capacity.
Rojas, who was promoted to skipper in 2020 for the first time in his professional career, leaves his position with a 103-119 record for the Mets across two seasons, with 77 of those wins coming this year.
The Mets said in a statement that decisions regarding the remaining coaching staff will be made over the next several days. The organization will now begin a search for its fourth manager in the past five years.
“I want to share such heartfelt gratitude to so many in the Mets organization for not only the last two seasons as manager, but for the last 16 years in a variety of roles,” Rojas said in a statement. “In each and every position I held, striving for excellence was our daily mission. I will always hold the relationships and friendships, developed over the years, dear to my heart, and am forever grateful to have been able to wear the Mets uniform for so long. We live in a results-oriented business, and am deeply disappointed for our staff and fans that we didn’t reach our goals this season.”
Rojas has worked in the organization since 2007. The son of Felipe Alou and brother of Moises Alou, Rojas ascended from the minor leagues, where he managed from 2008-2018. The Mets promoted him to the major-league staff as quality control coach in 2019.
Rojas, 40, took responsibility on Sunday after the Mets’ season finale for failing to help the team win more games.
“As the manager, you gotta feel responsible for not winning enough games,” Rojas said in Atlanta. “You gotta feel responsible for not helping the team achieve the goal that was set at the beginning of the season. Managers get paid to win games and we won less
than we lost this year.”
Homegrown Mets, including Pete Alonso, Michael Conforto, Brandon Nimmo, Dominic Smith and Jeff McNeil, played for Rojas when he managed in the minors. They respected Rojas and were excited about his promotion to skipper in 2020. Rojas said on Sunday he would have benefited from more experience in the big leagues while managing the 2021 team.
“I’ve loved playing for Luis,” Alonso said. “I’m always going to love every single experience that I’ve had, because he’s treated me so well. He’s always had respect for me. I always have respect for him and he’s a great guy, he’s a baseball man, he loves what he does and he cares. He cares not just about winning games, he cares about everybody personally in that locker room, too.”
Rojas took over for Carlos Beltran, the former outfielder whom the Mets hired as manager ahead of the 2020 season. Beltran stepped down before managing a single game following details of his involvement in the Astros’ 2017 sign-stealing scandal. Rojas managed under extraordinary events in the past 20 months, including an unexpected elevation to skipper, a pandemic baseball season and an ownership transfer from the Wilpons to Steve Cohen. Rojas worked under four GMs and throughout all the changes, he remained even keeled in the face of uncertainty.
“It was fun playing for him,” Francisco Lindor said on Sunday after one year under Rojas. “He’s relatively young as a manager. I come from Tito (Cleveland manager Terry Francona), completely different ways of managing. I like him a lot. He brings a lot to the game. One of the biggest messages he brought to us this year was to be fearless, and I respect that.”
Despite Rojas’ connection to players and his kind and professional attitude, team president Sandy Alderson said the Mets would make a results-oriented decision.
Next, Alderson and the Mets are expected to make a decision on acting GM Zack Scott, who was placed on administrative leave after his DUI arrest last month. Alderson said last week “there has been very little contact” with Scott since he was arrested in White Plains, and that the club planned to wait until his next court date on Oct. 7 before making any calls on his Mets future.
“The entire Mets organization is grateful for the dedication and devotion that Luis has exhibited over the last two seasons as manager,” Alderson said in a statement. “He has shown a great commitment to the Mets over many years in multiple capacities. These decisions are never easy, but we feel a change is needed at this time.”
Team owner Steve Cohen gave his remarks on Twitter.
“Want to thank Luis for his work as a manager,” Cohen wrote. “He is a good man who represented the Mets with dignity and calm during two extremely trying years.”