People around the New York Mets continue to point to Mark Shapiro as a fit to lead the organization, according to Andy Martino of SNY.
The Toronto Blue Jays president was linked to the National League club by a New York Post report last week and while he declined to comment on that, Shapiro did tell Toronto media recently that he’s committed to his current position and isn’t at odds with executives at club owner Rogers Communications Inc.
That hasn’t stopped chatter around the Mets, writes Martino, who notes the team is in the early, brainstorming phase of its search for a new head of baseball operations.
Connections exist between Shapiro and key members of the New York organization. He is close with Omar Minaya, a special assistant with the Mets who could be in the running for what would be his second tenure as general manager with the club. Minaya is also said to have “the ear of Mets owner Fred Wilpon,” reported Jon Heyman of FanCred in August. Additionally, Wilpon reportedly has a strong relationship with Shapiro’s father, Ron, a veteran agent.
Shapiro is under contract with the Blue Jays through 2020. He held court with writers on Friday at Rogers Centre and spoke about his desire to continue to oversee a franchise that’s clearly in a rebuilding phase.
“I feel as, if not more, excited to be here than the day I chose to come here about three years ago, for all the same reasons, namely at the top of the list, the city and the country and what that’s meant to me personally and my family being here. It’s been an exceptional place to be,” Shapiro said. “And then for the potential of the franchise. If anything, living it the past 2½ years, I feel even more bullish on what an incredible opportunity there is here to build something over multiple years that captures an entire nation and achieves levels that you dream about when you think of these types of jobs.
“This is where I want to be, this is where I am, this is what I’m focused on, and really don’t need to think of anything else.”
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