The Mets’ general manager/head of baseball operations search will include at least one name with extensive experience in the position.
Doug Melvin, the former Rangers and Brewers GM, has been contacted by the Mets and will interview with club officials this week or next, according to an industry source.
The 66-year-old Melvin has been serving as a senior adviser to the Brewers, who clinched the NL Central title on Monday.
Melvin is the first known official candidate on a first-round interview list that could contain up to 12 names.
The first round of interviews to find Sandy Alderson’s replacement will be conducted by team COO Jeff Wilpon and assistant general manager John Ricco. Alderson stepped aside in June to battle his recurring cancer, leaving Ricco and special assistants Omar Minaya and J.P. Ricciardi to run the baseball operations department.
Texas reached the postseason three times in the 1990s with Melvin in charge. The Brewers reached the postseason in 2008 and ’11 with Melvin as the GM. He has been serving in an advisory role with the organization since August 2015, in a front office that includes GM David Stearns, who also could be a consideration for the Mets job.
The Canadian-born Melvin is viewed in the industry as somebody with the right temperament to handle the turbulence within an organization lacking a clear chain of command.
All indications are team owner Fred Wilpon would prefer a veteran presence with a strong background in scouting and player development leading the baseball operations, and Melvin, who has spent four decades in the industry, certainly fits that description.
But the Mets are also expected to interview a wide range of candidates from a list that could include names such as former Red Sox GM Ben Cherington, MLB executive Kim Ng, agent Casey Close, Indians GM Mike Chernoff, Royals assistant GM J.J. Picollo, Blue Jays assistant GM Tony LaCava and Cardinals director of player development Gary LaRocque among others.
The Mets had shown interest in Braves assistant GM Perry Minasian, but multiple sources cast doubt Wednesday that he will receive an interview. Also unlikely to receive an interview is Mets first-base coach Ruben Amaro Jr., who has expressed interest in the position. Amaro spent seven seasons as Phillies GM.
It’s possible the Mets are also monitoring the situation in Baltimore, where longtime general manager Dan Duquette was fired Wednesday. Duquette is the cousin of former Mets GM Jim Duquette.
Fred Wilpon is expected to join the interview process for the second round of interviews. The Mets are hopeful to have a hire before the start of MLB’s GM meetings on Nov. 5, but Jeff Wilpon recently suggested the process could stretch beyond that date, in which case the Mets would begin the offseason with Ricco, Minaya and Ricciardi laying the foundation for 2019.
Frank Viola is leaving the Mets organization after spending the last eight seasons as a minor league pitching coach at various levels.
The former Cy Young award winner spent this season at Double-A Binghamton.
“Time for a change,” Viola said in a text message to The Post. “It’s been a while since I have been out there as a free agent. A lot out there to look at.”