Mets to contact Theo Epstein for open president of baseball operations job, report says

The New York Mets want to bring in a proven name during the offseason to lead the team’s baseball operations. They will start their search soon with one of the biggest names available.

According to MLB Network’s Jon Heyman, the Mets will soon reach out to former Boston Red Sox and Chicago Cubs general manager Theo Epstein to gauge his interest in the job.

Heyman also reported the Mets will seek permission to Oakland A’s president Billy Beane and Milwaukee Brewers president David Stearns once their respective seasons are over.

“Mets will soon contact Theo Epstein regarding their Baseball President job,” Heyman tweeted, “and plan to request permission to interview Billy Beane and David Stearns after their clubs are out (A’s are done Sunday, Brewers may be awhile). So Theo could be up 1st as Mets try for a proven star.”

Several reports in recent weeks have already tied the Mets to all three potential candidates, and each would certainly fill owner Steve Cohen’s desire for a big-name executive to revitalize the Mets’ front office.

IT’S THE CUBS’ WORLD NOW

Not to spoil the ending, but:

But the Cardinals aren’t doomed. They still have a solid lineup, a solid rotation and a solid bullpen, and you’d have to think they’ll add somebody. But for years, some fans have claimed, wrongly, that Cardinals-Cubs isn’t a real rivalry because the Cards have always been so much better than the Cubs. This, not coincidentally, is the same thing Yankees fans used to say about the Red Sox, before Epstein took over there as well. Now, some have said, in the wake of the Cubs’ signing of Heyward, that this ratchets up the rivalry.

But if anything, I believe it dampens it. Even before Friday, the Cubs were a better team than the Cardinals in just about every way. Now that the Cubs took the Cardinals’ best player, the gap between these teams have widened. If anyone needs to prove this is a rivalry, it’s the fading Cardinals.