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Luis Rojas this year brought continuity to a Mets team that had just completed a change of ownership and a front office overhaul, but his grip on managerial work eroded with the club fading in the second half. time.
On Monday, team president Sandy Alderson made official what has long been suspected that Rojas will not be returning as manager for next season. Officially, the club have announced that Rojas, whose two-year contract is expiring, will not have his option retained for 2022
“The entire Mets organization is grateful for the dedication and dedication Luis has shown over the past two seasons as a manager,” Alderson said in a statement. “He has shown a great commitment to the Mets for many years in a number of capacities. These decisions are never easy, but we believe a change is needed right now. “
Rojas has been offered the opportunity to stay with the organization in a title yet to be determined, according to the club.
Alderson is expected to decide the fate of the coaching staff in the coming days.
The announcement came after a 77-85 season in which the Mets fell in the past two months. Stuck with an underperforming roster and a starting rotation that lost ace Jacob deGrom throughout the second half, the Mets slipped from first place in the eastern NL – a place they have. occupied for 103 days this season – in the third and have missed the playoffs for a fifth consecutive year.
“I want to share such a heartfelt gratitude to so many members of the Mets organization for not only the past two seasons as a manager, but for the past 16 years in a variety of roles,” said Rojas. “In every position I have held, the pursuit of excellence was our daily mission.
“I will always cherish the relationships and friendships developed over the years and will always be grateful that I was able to wear a Mets uniform for so long. We live in a results driven company and I am deeply disappointed for our staff and fans that we have not achieved our goals this season.
The search for the Rojas’ successor, 40, is not expected to gain momentum until the hiring of a president of baseball operations, a process that could take the Mets to the World Series or beyond. Owner Steve Cohen has previously indicated a preference for experience in key positions, which allows the Mets to pursue proven merchandise at a manager such as Bruce Bochy, Buck Showalter, Bob Melvin (whose contract with Oakland contains an option 2022), John Farrell or John Gibbons, but the chase will likely be on the back burner until a president of baseball operations is hired. Potential candidates for this position include Theo Epstein, Billy Beane, David Stearns and Chris Antonelli.
Rojas was the third consecutive hiring of the Mets who lacked experience in the position at the major league level, after the departure of Terry Collins in October 2017. Between the Mets employed Mickey Callaway and Carlos Beltran, the latter of whom left the organization. without handling a game in the fallout from the Astros’ illegal sign-stealing program, in which he was involved, according to MLB.
Just weeks before the start of spring training in 2020, then general manager Brodie Van Wagenen promoted Rojas from quality control coach to manager. In the season cut short by the pandemic, Rojas guided the Mets to a 26-34 record, which tied them last in the eastern NL.
Alderson, who returned to the organization last offseason as team president when Cohen bought the team, stayed with Rojas. Part of it was familiarity: Rojas had led many of these players in the Mets minor league system at different levels. Alderson, who served as general manager of the Mets for 7 1/2 seasons before retiring in 2018, said he was comfortable with Rojas’ work.
And the decision to stay with Rojas appeared sound during a first half in which the Mets overcame injuries from players such as Brandon Nimmo, Michael Conforto, Jeff McNeil, JD Davis and Pete Alonso to become a first place team. But the Mets began a slide in late July and were swept away by three games in Philadelphia in early August, relinquishing first place and never recovered. Overall, they went 29-45 in the second half, largely sabotaged by a formation that finished 27th in MLB, averaging 3.92 points per game.
Rojas, whose father Felipe Alou managed the Expos and Giants, came to the Mets in 2007 to work in player development. His strength as a manager could have been his communication and interaction with the players.
“I love it,” Francisco Lindor said last week. “He’s always been up front with me and always treated me fairly and correctly and he’s helped most of the guys here develop.”
Rojas seemed to be proud of what he saw as a cohesive nature among the players.
“I’ve always said the only thing I’ve enjoyed here over the past two years is the way the clubhouse is and how everyone gets along,” Rojas said after the loss of the Mets at the end of the season Sunday in Atlanta. “The results were not pleasant, this part was disappointing.”
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