Since being hired as the team’s interim manager, Andy Green has continuously stated that he was not interested in having the full-time gig, citing his family as the primary reason. Thus, the expectation has been that the Mets would conduct a complete search for a new manager in the offseason. Well, that impending search has ended before it even began, as the team has given Green a three-year deal to serve as the full-time manager.
Green, the former Padres manager who had been serving as Senior Vice President of Player Development in the front office, has been in the dugout since the team fired Carlos Mendoza at the end of June following a disastrous start to the season. While the team has not exactly been world-beaters in the time since then, they have generally played better with Green in charge (to the tune of a 37-38 record), and he has earned plaudits for his handling of the media and his willingness to challenge his players. In the press release announcing the deal, Green addressed his previous reticence to accept the full-time job:
I am excited and humbled to officially be named manager of the New York Mets. When I accepted the interim role, I didn’t anticipate it becoming permanent, but the more time I spent with our players and staff, the clearer it became that this is where my passion and experience could make the greatest impact. That realization led to many conversations with my family, and together we agreed this is the right opportunity at the right time. I want to thank Steve and Alex for the love, ambition and commitment with which they lead this organization, and David for the trust he has placed in me. I believe deeply in what we can build together, and I’m honored to continue serving our players, this organization and the amazing Mets fans.
It is worth noting, of course, that Green’s job next season will be fundamentally different than the one he has been doing these past few months. We will see how he handles the pressure of managing a team that is expected to win versus one that had virtually already played itself out of the playoff race and was just navigating its way through the end of the season. Nevertheless, the 2027 team will now have some familiarity in the dugout (this presumably includes a number of the new coaches the team hired this past offseason, who will likely stick around with Green) as they look to rebound from a disappointing campaign.
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