Mets Decide to Make Andy Green Permanent Manager With New Three-Year Deal

The offseason is rapidly approaching, and the New York Mets answered one of their biggest questions before the regular season ends. The Mets have removed the interim tag from manager Andy Green and given him a new three-year deal to be the club’s permanent successor to Carlos Mendoza, per SNY’s Chelsea Janes.

Janes was the first to report that the Mets removed the interim tag from Green, which came as a mild surprise since there had been reporting that Green was planning to return to the front office after the season. Owner Steve Cohen recently indicated that he was hoping Green would change his mind about taking the job on a permanent basis, and it appears Green, who was hesitant to manage full-time due to a desire for a better work-life balance with his family, has done just that.

There had been a lot of speculation about potential candidates for the vacancy in the last few months, with Carlos Beltran essentially pulling his name out of the running over the weekend. Green, who has gone 37-38 since taking over for Mendoza in June, will now get the chance to guide this team on a full time basis for the next few years.

Why Andy Green fits what the Mets were looking for in a manager

Fans may not be thrilled with the decision to make Green the permanent manager, thanks in part to his bad record in San Diego, where he went 274-366 in just under four seasons at the helm. Green was put in a tough spot with the Padres since he was given some pretty bad rosters to try to develop, with former owner Peter Seidler’s big spending coming into play mostly after Green was let go.

The Mets have performed much more consistently since Green took over for Mendoza, which is an impressive feat, considering that David Stearns stripped down the roster at the trade deadline. Green has also shown a solid aptitude for dealing with the New York media and pushing the right buttons with his players, many of whom felt Green was the exact right fit for the job, per Will Sammon of The Athletic.

Janes also got some good context on the level of support for Green from stars Francisco Lindor and Juan Soto, both of whom had very positive takes on the job Green has done thus far. Green has also done a good job pushing the Mets’ younger players to play better, notably challenging both Zac Thornton and Christian Scott to find their way out of jams instead of getting bailed out by relievers.

There will surely be fans upset that the Mets didn’t explore external candidates, but it sure sounds as if Alex Cora had little interest in coming to Queens to succeed Mendoza. Cora was the only sure-fire upgrade available over Green, who has already demonstrated to the front office that he can handle the unique aspects of this job and has gained the respect of key figures in the locker room, something a new manager would have to take time to do.

There is a lot of logic behind this decision, and it gives the Mets a solid foundation to build around in their clubhouse, which has seen several players mention how difficult it is to have constant turnover in both the coaching and roster ranks.

Green’s presence should allow them to maintain some continuity on the coaching side, which could help since there should be some more new faces joining the roster this winter.

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