5 candidates to be the next New York Mets manager

4. Joe Maddon

The Chicago Cubs parted ways with Maddon at season’s end, as expected, and he is automatically one of the top candidates for most of the current managerial openings (as well as one that may come in Philadelphia if Gabe Kapler is fired). That also means he’ll have options, including the Los Angeles Angels and San Diego Padres most notably, and the Mets are now among the teams presumably ready to enter what could become a bidding war.

Maddon is older (66 in February), but he’s hardly old school as he keeps a loose clubhouse and has embraced outside the box ideas with lineup construction and using players in multiple spots. How that would fit with the old-school tilted (and heavily involved?) ownership of the Wilpons in New York is unclear. So it may come down to Maddon respectfully declining an interview if he feels his others options are simply a better fit.

But the Mets should have a lot of interest in Maddon, up until they get an indication he is not interested in them or has been hired elsewhere. If Van Wagenen hasn’t practically already gotten some sort of early indication where Maddon is in his search for a new job, he’s not starting of the search for a new manager on the proper foot.