The 2026 season isn't even over, and moves are already being made for 2027.
The New York Mets have removed the interim label from Andy Green, naming him the full time manager of the club with a brand new three-year contract extension.
Green who took over a brutal situation in late June with the Mets all but out of contention following the firing of Carlos Mendoza, settled things down to the best of his ability. He got the team to play better, got the most out of many of the young players like AJ Ewing and Carson Benge, and as a result the Mets went 37-38 in the 75 games since June 26.
"I think Andy brings to us an ability to connect the organization in ways that very few people could," Mets president of baseball operations David Stearns told the media in Texas on Tuesday.
Green was serving as the Mets VP of Player Development with a specific focus on the Mets farm system, when he was asked to step into the managerial role in late June to take over for Mendoza. It was Green's familiarity with a lot of the young and developing players, and his unique communication skills that made him rub off quiet well with the players in the clubhouse.
His naming as full time manager was met with unanimous praise from players and those associated with the franchise.
"Since Andy stepped in, he’s helped a lot of guys be a better version of themselves. We’ve been playing a good brand of baseball. Glad to have that continuity moving forward. Extremely happy for him and his family," infielder Marcus Seimien said on Tuesday.
Added veteran Francisco Lindor: "Its a good thing for the organization. I felt like he's done a good job, and you don't want to go into the offseaosn thinking about what's going to happen. He's been in the organization for the past few months, it's a wise decision, and I look forward to the next couple years."
Lindor added that Green has brought "light, joy and accountability" to the team.
Mets Hall of Famer and broadcaster Keith Hernandez was thrilled by the move. "It's very important when you have young players you have a manager who knows their abilities. I think he's the right guy for the job. I am absolutely thrilled."
While the move wasn't a shock to those around the Mets, it might have come as a shock to fans and those outside, because Green, Stearns and owner Steve Cohen has stated emphatically for months that once the 2026 season ended, Green would head back into his VP of Player Development role, and that he valued family time with his children. There was an understanding that the Mets were going to go into a full scale search.
But things changed.
"I made a promise to my girls when they were 13 years-old that I would not go back into the dugout until they graduated high school. And over the last month to see them go from 13-year olds to almost 18 year olds who want to see what dad do what makes him happy, but encouraged me to do this if the opportunity presented itself."
Stearns added that he got a call from Green a couple weeks ago in early September that he was open and "eager" to throwing his hat into the ring for the full time role, and that he "very much believed in this group of players."
"It got my head spinning just a bit," Stearn said. "We've had a number of conversations, and ultimately I recommended we move forward with Andy to Steve and Alex, and they agreed."
"I expected to have a conversation with Andy as we got deeper into September, and I expected him to come back to the front office. When he shared with me where his mind was, and it got me thinking. We've been able to have those conversations, and I was pleased we ended up where we did."
"I am excited to go forward with that group, and anticipate what we can do going forward," Green said. "It became more obvious with my family that this was something we wanted to do together."
When asked if he had done any informal searches outside the organization before this move, Stearns added, "I would say we did a significant amount of due diligence on candidates so we knew who was out there. But we never got to the point of interviewing an external candidate," Stearns added.
"The familiarity helps as we get into the off-season. It's comforting for players and allows us to move forward together."
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