Mets expect manager Terry Collins to retire after the season

As a dismal season winds down, Terry Collins is probably at the end of his run as New York Mets manager.

After going to the World Series in 2015 and making it to the Wild Card game last year, the New York Mets are 65-87 heading into to the start of the final homestand of the 2017 season Friday night. Injuries have played a huge role in what may be a 90-plus loss season when it’s all said and done, and according to Kristie Ackert of the New York Daily News the Mets expect manager Terry Collins to retire at the end of he season.

Collins is in (or wrapping up?) his seventh season as Mets manager, with a 546-578 regular season record, and he’s managed more games than anyone in team history. But he’s also 68 years old, and Ackert suggested the Mets may want to join the trend of younger, not as proven, more analytics-driven managers being hired around MLB.

Collins agreed to a two-year contract extension with the Mets after the 2015 World Series run, so he technically will have his deal set to expire as opposed to being fired. He may not even retire though, according to Ackert, but instead move to another organization in a different role. It’s easy to see Collins having some value to offer as a bench coach, so there should be some opportunities for him there if he does not choose to retire.

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Speculation has already surfaced surrounding who may replace Collins, with internal candidates and those with ties to general manager Sandy Alderson taking some priority at this point. It’s an appealing job in a lot of respects, shy of the unavoidable, constant and unrelenting microscope of the New York media. But the Mets should ultimately get the new manager they want to replace Collins, with a open-minded search an absolute prerequisite.