Let the interviews begin: Mets begin search for their new skipper

The interview process for the newest Mets manager has begun. Plus, check out our profiles on each candidate.

The latest on the Mets managerial search… 💭

• The Mets hope to have a new manager in place by the end of next week (NY Post)

• The club interviewed former Tigers and Angels manager Brad Ausmus on Monday, making him the first known candidate to be interviewed (Heyman and Fansided)

• New York will likely interview Rays bench coach Matt Quatraro later today (SNY)

• The Mets have requested permission to interview Astros bench coach Joe Espada for the position (ESPN)

• The team has also shown interested in former Padres and Giants manager Bruce Bochy (Sports Illustrated)

• Longtime manager Buck Showalter and Pirates bench coach Don Kelly are also among the candidates being considered for the job (SNY)

• Despite rumors, former Mets players David Wright and Curtis Granderson are unlikely to receive interviews for the manager position (Sports Illustrated)

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For more on the candidates, check out our managerial candidate profiles below. To learn more about Buck Showalter, who we profiled last week, click here…

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About Bruce Bochy…

Bochy, 66, is perhaps the most decorated of all of the possible candidates for the Mets, although he had a mostly pedestrian playing career. He started his career with the Astros, and after three years made a pitstop with the Mets in 1982, and rounded out his career with the Padres from 1983-1987. As a player, he reached the postseason twice and appeared in the 1984 World Series for San Diego against the Detroit Tigers.

After he retired following the 1987 season and a hiatus in 1988, Bochy was hired by the Padres in 1989 as an assistant to the Single-A Riverside Red Wave. He immediately left that team and went to manage the Single-A Spokane Indians, and led that team to a third consecutive championship. Bochy then returned to the Red Wave as their manager and didn't have as much success immediately, steering that club to a 64-78 mark in 1990. But the tide turn upon the Red Wave's move to Adelanto, CA where they went 73-63 and won the California League championship. Bochy was then promoted to the Padres' Double-A affiliate in 1992 and delivered the organization a Texas League championship.

His work in the minors paid off, as Bochy was hired as San Diego's third base coach for the 1993 season, and succeeded Jim Riggleman as their manager after the strike-shortened 1994 season. Bochy never looked back from there, having spent the next 12 seasons in San Diego before heading north to San Francisco where he would help guide the Giants to their first championship since 1954 when his Giants defeated the Rangers in 2010 and their first of three over a five-year span.

He is a three-time World Champion with the Giants, and also won a pennant while managing the Padres in 1998, earning him Manager of the Year honors for his work that season. His managing career spans 25 seasons in which he has a lifetime 2003-2029 record, all with San Diego and San Francisco.

About Brad Ausmus…

Ausmus, 52, spent his 18-year playing career with the Astros, Padres, Tigers and Dodgers from 1993-2010, building a reputation as an elite defensive catcher while winning three gold gloves with Houston.

After he retired as a player, the New Haven, Connecticut native was named field executive for the Padres, a position he held for three years before leaving for the Tigers to become their manager for the 2014 season, succeeding Jim Leyland in that role. He enjoyed immediate success, taking Detroit to the American League Division Series with a 90-72 record before being ousted by the Orioles. While the Tigers regressed in 2015 with 87 losses, they won 86 games in 2016, but he was dismissed after the 2017 season when Detroit lost 98 games with the worst record in baseball.

Ausmus joined the Angels in 2018 as a special assistant to now-Mets GM Billy Eppler, and was named to replace Mike Scioscia as their manager for the 2019 season. But after losing 90 games that season, Eppler and the Angels fired Ausmus with two years left on his contract.

Ausmus owns a 386-412 lifetime record as a major league manager.

About Joe Espada…

Espada, 46, is a native of Puerto Rico and is currently serving as the Astros bench coach, a role he has served since the 2018 season. He began his coaching career in 2006 as a hitting coach in the Marlins organization after a ten-year minor league career, managing in the South Atlantic League in 2006 and the Florida State League in 2007. He was then made their minor league infield coordinator, a position he served through 2009 when he was promoted to the major league staff as the Marlins’ third base coach for the 2010 season.

After the 2013 season, the Marlins asked Espada to manage their Single-A Florida State League affiliate, but he instead took a job with the Yankees as a special assistant to the general manager, working alongside Brian Cashman and current Mets GM Billy Eppler.

Espada has never managed in the major leagues, although he was a candidate for the Rangers managerial opening in 2018 and the Cubs opening in 2019.

About Matt Quatraro…

Quatraro, 48, played five of his seven years in the Devil Rays organization, reaching as high as Triple-A Durham before retiring as a player following the 2002 season. A native New Yorker, Quatraro grew up near Albany in East Selkirk and is the current bench coach for the Tampa Bay Rays.

Quatraro began his coaching career with the Hudson Valley Renegades in 2004, then a part of the Devil Rays organization. He served in that role for two years before being promoted to be their manager for the 2006 season. During his time with the Renegades, Quatraro also served as the assistant coach for the baseball team at the University of Albany.

After two years in those roles, Quatraro moved up to manage the Rays South Atlantic League affiliate, and took on the role of minor league hitting coordinator for the Rays beginning in the 2010 season. After the 2013 season, Quatraro was plucked by the Indians for the assistant hitting coach position, served there for four years and then returned to Tampa Bay to be their bench coach, a position he has held since that time.

About Don Kelly…

Kelly, who will be 42 on Opening Day, is currently serving as the bench coach for the Pirates. He was a utility player with the Pirates, Tigers and Marlins between 2007-2016, amassing 252 hits and a 71 OPS+ throughout his career. He did spend the 2008 season in the Diamondbacks organization but did not make an appearance.

After he retired, Kelly was hired as a player development scout for the Tigers in 2017 and quickly moved up the ranks, moving to the Major League side as a scout in 2018 before moving on to the Astros as their first base coach for the 2019 season. He then joined Pittsburgh as their bench coach ahead of the 2020 season and has served in that capacity since then.

Kelly was always recognized for his versatility, having played every single position - including pitcher - at least one time throughout his career.