There are only about 3-to-5 candidates to run Mets—here’s who we think they are

According to people with direct knowledge of the team’s plans, there are only three-to-five people who could potentially fit the bill. And that list could be further whittled down, as it was last offseason, by difficulties obtaining permission to interview potential candidates.

Alderson will continue to run baseball operations into October, and then the process of asking permission to talk to top executives and interviewing them will begin.

The team is tight-lipped about identifying those individuals, at least to a nosy reporter. But conversations with other league sources leave us feeling confident about publishing educated speculation regarding the following names:

Chris Antonetti
The Cleveland president of baseball operations has a reputation as smart, tough and diligent. It’s unclear if the Mets would be able to obtain permission to interview him for a lateral move, but this is a name that has swirled around in Mets circles for several months.

Billy Beane
Alderson has long enjoyed a friendship with his former mentee, and worked with Beane in Oakland as recently as last year. If Beane decides he could be reinvigorated by the challenge of running a team in New York, this speculation could grow legs and become a story.