5 candidates to replace Terry Collins as New York Mets manager

With Terry Collins not expected back, here are five candidates to be the next manager of the New York Mets.

The New York Mets have had a very disappointing season, nearing 90 losses heading into the final 10 games. Injuries have left manager Terry Collins with a depleted lineup and starting rotation basically from the start, so his frustration level is surely high. On that note, Kristie Ackert of the New York Daily News has reported the Mets expect Collins to retire after the season.

Technically, Collins’ contract will expire once the season ends. So the words “fired” or “resigned” may not be used to explain his departure, but instead we’ll be offered it as an organizational decision not to renew his contract or a “mutual decision to part ways” to provide a more graceful exit for Collins.

Names of candidates to replace Collins have started to surface, as the Mets may already be starting on a managerial search that is the worst-kept secret in MLB this side of Detroit.

Here are my top five candidates to become the next manager of the New York Mets.

5. Kevin Long

Long has been the Mets’ hitting coach since 2015, after serving in the same role with the New York Yankees from 2007-2014. So he’s plenty familiar with the New York market, and the scrutiny it comes with, which helps make him a top internal candidate to replace Collins.

Long is also relative young, at 50 years old (51 in December), and he may be willing to fully embrace analytics in his managerial approach. His managerial philosophy is hard to know at this point, but general manager Sandy Alderson can certainly find out in an interview.