SF Giants Rumor: Former general manager "interested" in Mets job

The offseason has not officially begun but an interesting rumor surfaced on Friday that connects a former SF Giants general manager to the Mets' front office search. Brian Sabean is reportedly interested in becoming the president of baseball operations for the New York Mets according to Deesha Thosar of the New York Daily News.

SF Giants Rumor: Former general manager "interested" in Mets job

Sabean has longstanding ties with the Giants organization, so it would be odd to see him working for a different club. He joined San Francisco's front office in 1993, serving as an assistant to the general manager.

He served in several key roles before being named as the team's general manager before the 1997 season. To say that his tenure got off to a rocky start would be a gross understatement. After all, his first order of business was trading away fan-favorite third baseman Matt Williams to the Cleveland Guardians in exchange for a package of players that was headlined by second baseman Jeff Kent.

Fans immediately called for Sabean's resignation and the criticism boiled over when Sabean had to famously defend himself by proclaiming, "I am not an idiot." That trade was a move paid off handsomely for the Giants as Kent went on to earn three National League All-Star nods in six seasons with the Giants while taking him the National League MVP award.

Sabean went on to have remarkable success as the team's top executive including three World Series championships in 2010, 2012, and 2014. During that time, he was nearly flawless in signing under-the-radar free agents and executing midseason trades.

In 2015, the longtime general manager was promoted to executive vice president of baseball operations. Bobby Evans took over as the team's general manager.

The Giants continue to compete over the next couple of seasons but hit a rough patch in 2017-2018 that ended with Evans being fired. Sabean was retained as a special advisor but it appears that he is getting the itch to lead a front office again.

The Mets have two leadership holes to fill including the team president of baseball operations and the manager. Of course, it has already been postulated that in hiring Sabean, the Mets could fill two holes with one move given how strong his relationship is with longtime Giants manager Bruce Bochy.

Though, those details are a conversation for a different day. Sabean has quietly expressed interest in the Mets' job but they have yet to reach out to him for the role. That said, they previously contacted Theo Epstein, Billy Beane, and David Stearns for the open vacancy but discussions never advanced with any of the three candidates.

With the candidate pool currently dry, the Mets will have to pivot in their search. They are clearly targeting a front office executive with experience and few have a better and longer track record than the former Giants general manager. Given the rumors, Sabean seems like an ideal fit for the Mets. But, they have to pick up the phone and make the call.