David Stearns eliminated Buck Showalter from the list of potential managers.
Just about everyone else, though, could be a candidate for the Mets.
The club’s new president of baseball operations said he wanted a “fresh start” with a new manager, one with whom he could grow and one who would be here a long time.
Showalter, whom Stearns said he did not talk to before he was fired because he was not contractually allowed to, did not qualify.
“This isn’t really specific to Buck,” Stearns said at Citi Field, where he officially took over the team he grew up rooting for. “This is more about coming in new, given the situation the organization is in right now. My belief that a new direction, a new voice, a little bit of a fresh start for the organization as a whole was in everyone’s best interest.”
Stearns said he reached out Monday to Showalter and was appreciative of the experienced manager’s two seasons in Queens, adding the Mets are “in a better spot for him having been here.”
The manager who will succeed Showalter could be a first-time manager — or could have experience.
The next Mets skipper might come from Stearns’ past — or might not.
Stearns publicly crossed off virtually no one, saying he does not have a person in mind and will cast “a wide net.” Whoever the choice will be will work closely with the front office.
“I view the managerial position as one of true partnership,” said Stearns, who has never hired a manager. “Someone who is working side by side with me and the rest of our baseball ops group.
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“The manager has so many responsibilities these days. It is a big job. But first and foremost is the ability to manage people; manage personalities; and create and facilitate an organizational culture where people enjoy coming to work and work hard.”
Stearns came from the Brewers, with whom he had inherited Craig Counsell as manager.
There has been widespread speculation that Stearns could recruit Counsell to Queens — speculation that Stearns declined to address directly because Counsell is under contract until after the season.
While he wants someone who will develop with him, he added that having been a major league manager “is not a disqualifier.”
Counsell and 11 other managers are embarking on a playoff run and will not be available for interviews until those runs end.
Stearns allowed that the postseason will be a “complicating factor” for the search and warned that the hunt could take a while.
“We’re not going to rush this process,” said Stearns, the new leader of a club that has employed four managers (Showalter, Luis Rojas, Carlos Beltran and Mickey Callaway) since the 2018 season.
Perhaps with the instability in mind, Stearns wants to find a person who will work alongside him for more than just a few seasons.
When Stearns interviewed with team owner Steve Cohen about the job, they discussed qualities they sought in a manager, which appeared to be more based on connection and less based on background.
“[We discussed] my desire to really be able to grow with a manager, someone here hopefully for a long time and find that person,” Stearns said. “And also my belief that coming in from the outside, it would be beneficial to me and ultimately to the organization to have someone start at the beginning of this journey with me to make sure that we’re aligned at the outset — to make sure that we’re ready to move forward for a long time together.”
