Managing entire team, not just arms, the plan

Mickey Callaway made his name and arrived at Citi Field on Monday largely because of his work as a pitching guru with the Indians. But GM Sandy Alderson made it clear Call away, as t he Mets’ new manager, was there to manage first and foremost with a yet-to-be hired pitching coach handling the pitching duties. “I think it’s important to recognize that yes, Mickey’s a former pitching coach and it’s important for us because that’s our strength,” Alderson said. “But at the same time, Mickey will be focused entirely on the 25-man roster and so the pitching coach will be very important.” In the coming days, Callaway, Alderson and the front office will put together a list of potential pitching coaches — they already have a few names in mind — as they look to fill out the staff. Dan Warthen, who had guided Mets pitchers since 2008, will not return to the dugout. When Callaway was promoted to be the Indians’ pitching coach in 2013, manager Terry Francona handed him the keys to the pitching staff. In turn, he helped turn a group of pitchers into one of the best in baseball, a process he’ll try to oversee next with the Mets, like Francona did in Cleveland.

“[Francona] empowered me to do everything I could to make us the most successful staff we could be,” Callaway said. “I realized very quickly that I’m not just a pitching coach, I have to manage all these people and their personalities. I know there’s a process for that.”

Callaway and Alderson both said they were looking for a pitching coach who could communicate well and collaborate with players and coaches.

While Callaway expressed excitement about the potential of the Mets pitching staff — “The pitching is something that can be some of the greatest guys on the planet,” he said — he quickly followed that up by saying he saw the same promise in his new position players, too.

In his first hours on the job, Callaway was already turning his focus to that of a manager, trying to shed the label of just a pitching coach despite his lack of any managing experience in professional baseball.

For good measure, he showed it again when asked about Matt Harvey.

“I haven’t even looked deep enough into that,” Callaway said. “Maybe give me some time and you can ask the pitching coach when we hire one.”