1 reason the NY Mets should hire David Ross, 1 reason they shouldn’t

Andy Green has done nothing but impress since taking over as the New York Mets' interim manager. Stepping out of a cushy front office job back into the dugout -- where he struggled mightily in San Diego years ago -- to take over one baseball's most disappointing teams easily could have led to an unmitigated disaster. But, much to Green's credit, the Mets have been far more tolerable under his watch than they were under Carlos Mendoza.

Now, it's not as though he's performed a miracle. The Mets have roughly been a .500 squad since he took over, and they haven't seriously been considered a postseason contender since before Opening Day. Unlike Don Mattingly's heroic act of pulling the Phillies back into the playoff picture, Green merely delayed the sinking of New York's ship.

There's value in that, of course, but not the kind you absolutely have to invest in over the long-term. Green has already made it clear that he will return to the front office at the conclusion of the season. The Mets, meanwhile, must find his and Mendoza's permanent replacement.

One name that has begun to attract a lot of attention is David Ross, whom Green served under as a bench coach during their days with the Cubs. He's a well-respected former player with strong experience leading a ballclub, but is he really the right guy to lead the Mets forward?

David Ross' experience with roster overhauls should appeal to David Stearns

Ross, like Green, has experience piloting a team through a rebuild, having done so with the Cubs back in the early 2020s. However, he also has the unique experience of guiding an organization through a transition period; those Cubs traded away nearly all of their best and fan-favorite players in 2021, stripping bare a beloved roster than won a championship in 2016.

Mets fans know all too well what that's like, having watched David Stearns tear down the 2024 NLCS roster to the studs last winer. Mendoza clearly wasn't equipped to handle that transition, failing to give the fans reassurance that the new players would coalesce into a competitive group.

Ross didn't get to see the fruits of his labors in Chicago -- the Cubs awkwardly replaced him with Stearns' old friend Craig Counsell just as they were emerging from their rebuild -- but he kept that team relevant (262-284 career managerial record) and entertaining through a difficult time. That he also has 15 years of playing experience and two World Series rings under his belt shouldn't hurt his case.

David Ross' lack of managerial success would further harm front office's reputation with Mets fans

Also like Green, Ross didn't have a ton of success at his previous managerial stop. The Cubs were rebuilding, but they made the playoffs just once during his tenure, and that was in the pandemic-shortened 2020 campaign.

A retread with limited success isn't going to inspire a ton of confidence in Stearns, and that matters at the moment with the fanbase calling for him to be fired at Citi Field. Far more exciting candidates are out there, like World Series winner Alex Cora and Hall of Famer Carlos Beltran. Even a partnership with Dominican Republic skipper Albert Pujols would rejuvenate the Queens faithful more than Ross ever could.

The Mets shouldn't chase the "flashy" hire, but they do need to convince the fans that better times are ahead. It'll be easier to do that with a manager who has more success (or a cleaner slate) on his résumé than Ross.

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