The New York Mets have conducted one of the most extensive managerial searches in baseball. Now, ESPN analyst Eduardo Perez has reportedly emerged as the leading candidate to take the position.
According to USA Today’s Bob Nightengale, Perez is now the clear front runner to become the Mets’ newest manager.
Perez, who is part of ESPN2’s Statcast broadcast, joined ESPN’s Baseball Tonight in 2006. He would go on to serve as a manager for the Puerto Rican team Leones de Ponce from 2008-’09 before joining the Cleveland Indians as a special assistant. Perez later served as the hitting coach for the Miami Marlins from 2011-’12.
He rejoined ESPN in 2014 and has served as an analyst in a variety of roles, including his work on broadcasts. In addition to his experience around baseball as a player and coach, his time working with ESPN’s StatCast team has helped him develop ties to analytics.
Perez would likely serve as the ideal combination of leadership, experience with old school thinking and the additional trust in the data that front offices use today.