Mets aren’t bringing Luis Rojas back as manager

Luis Rojas this year brought continuity to a Mets team that had just completed an ownership change and front office overhaul, but his hold on the manager’s job eroded with the club’s second-half swoon.

On Monday, team president Sandy Alderson made official what has long been suspected, that Rojas won’t return as manager for next season. Officially, the club announced that Rojas, whose two-year contract is set to expire, won’t have his option picked up for 2022.

“The entire Mets organization is grateful for the dedication and devotion that Luis has exhibited over the last two seasons as manager,” Alderson said in a statement. “He has shown a great commitment to the Mets over many years in multiple capacities. These decisions are never easy, but we feel a change is needed at this time.”

Rojas has been offered an opportunity to remain in the organization in a yet-to-be-determined capacity, according to the club.

Alderson is expected to decide on the fate of the coaching staff in the coming days.

The announcement came following a 77-85 season in which the Mets folded over the final two months. Stuck with an underperforming lineup and starting rotation that lost ace Jacob deGrom for the entire second half, the Mets slid from first place in the NL East — a spot they held for 103 days this season — to third and missed the playoffs for a fifth straight year.

“I want to share such heartfelt gratitude to so many in the Mets organization for not only the last two seasons as manager, but for the last 16 years in a variety of roles,” Rojas said. “In each and every position I held, striving for excellence was our daily mission.

“I will always hold the relationships and friendships developed over the years dear to my heart and am forever grateful to have been able to wear a Mets uniform for so long. We live in a results oriented business and I’m deeply disappointed for our staff and fans that we didn’t reach our goals this season.”

A search for the 40-year-old Rojas’ successor isn’t expected to gain steam until a president of baseball operations is hired, a process that could take the Mets to the World Series or beyond. Owner Steve Cohen has previously stated a preference for experience in key positions, leaving it possible the Mets could pursue a proven commodity at manager such as Bruce Bochy, Buck Showalter, Bob Melvin (whose contract with Oakland contains a 2022 option), John Farrell or John Gibbons, but the hunt will likely be placed on the back burner until a president of baseball operations is hired. Potential candidates for that job include Theo Epstein, Billy Beane, David Stearns and Chris Antonetti.

Rojas was the Mets’ third straight managerial hire who lacked previous experience in the position at the major league level, following Terry Collins’ departure in October 2017. In between, the Mets employed Mickey Callaway and Carlos Beltran, the latter of whom departed the organization without managing a game in the fallout from the Astros’ illegal sign-stealing scheme, in which he was involved, according to MLB.

Only weeks before spring training was set to begin in 2020, then-general manager Brodie Van Wagenen promoted Rojas from quality control coach to manager. In the pandemic-shortened season, Rojas guided the Mets to a 26-34 record, which tied them for last in the NL East.

Alderson, who returned to the organization last offseason as team president upon Cohen’s purchase of the team, stuck with Rojas. Part of it was based on familiarity: Rojas had managed many of these players in the Mets’ minor league system at various levels. Alderson, who served as Mets general manager for 7 ½ seasons before stepping aside in 2018, indicated he was comfortable with Rojas’ work.

And the decision to stick with Rojas appeared sound during a first half in which the Mets overcame injuries to players such as Brandon Nimmo, Michael Conforto, Jeff McNeil, J.D. Davis and Pete Alonso to emerge as a first-place team. But the Mets began a slide in late July and got swept three games in Philadelphia in early August, surrendering first place, and never recovered. Overall, they went 29-45 in the second half, sabotaged largely by a lineup that finished 27th in MLB, averaging 3.92 runs per game.

Rojas’ strength as a manager might have been his communication and interaction with the players.

“I love him,” Francisco Lindor said last week. “He’s always been straight up with me and always treated me fair and correctly and he’s helped most of the guys here develop.”