Rojas has been with the Mets for over a decade, and hails from a family with a long MLB historyGETTY IMAGES
The Mets are expected to name quality control coach Luis Rojas manager after parting ways with Carlos Beltran, marking the latest step in Rojas' "steady rise" through the organization, according to Kevin Armstrong of the N.Y. TIMES. Rojas has been with the Mets for "more than a decade after a short playing career," and his family has a "long history" in MLB. Rojas offers the Mets "some continuity amid the disruption, and he is familiar with the talent in the clubhouse" (N.Y. TIMES, 1/23). On Long Island, Tim Healey writes Rojas "checks a lot of boxes" as Beltran's replacement. He is "analytically adept," he knows the roster, and he "comes from a famous baseball family." Healey: "Not a bad option for a team that found itself in the highly unusual position of looking for a manager in January" (NEWSDAY, 1/23). USA TODAY's Justin Toscano writes Rojas "seems like the best option for the Mets." Exec VP & GM Brodie Van Wagenen was "dealt a difficult hand, but moved fast and chose right." Rojas offers "upside as a potential rising star in the industry." With so little time before Spring Training begins, the Mets were "most comfortable with someone familiar" (USA TODAY, 1/23).
SURPRISE PICK, BUT A GOOD ONE: In N.Y., Joel Sherman writes Van Wagenen, if given a second chance, "could have done what he did not the first time -- gone with an experienced hand" such as former managers Dusty Baker or Buck Showalter. Instead, Van Wagenen, like "just about any player, executive or reporter who came in contact with Rojas, recognized how sharp he was." There was a "precocious quality" to Rojas' "knowledge and how he carried himself" (N.Y. POST, 1/23). On Long Island, David Lennon writes he believed the Mets would hire a "steadying, veteran presence" in the wake of Beltran's ouster. However, the team "seemed to look at it from a different angle." Lennon: "In Rojas, I don't have a problem with the thinking. ... Who better to steer this team back on course than a candidate who had managed and coached a number of key, young Mets on this roster, was widely praised within the system and already had a functioning relationship with the front office?" (NEWSDAY, 1/23). MLB Network's Kevin Millar said Rojas is the "perfect hire for what’s going on” with the Mets (“Intentional Talk,” MLB Network, 1/22).
SO YOU'RE NOT A FAN? CBSSN’s Adam Schein noted Rojas is “more qualified to manage the Mets" than Beltran was, but it "always goes back to a couple of premises" with the team. Rojas is another person Mets GM Brodie Van Wagenen “can control and basically treat as a puppet and pull the strings.” Hiring someone like Showalter "would mean that Brodie couldn’t be a puppet master and the Wilpons, for the first time in forever, would have to open up the checkbook” (“Time to Schein,” CBSSN, 1/22).
