Luis Rojas needed only one season on a major league bench to earn the respect of Mets players and co-workers.
As the team moves to hire a manager for the second time this offseason, possibly within the next few days, the 38-year-old Rojas remains an intriguing candidate to club officials, according to industry sources. The search comes after Carlos Beltran last week departed the organization, following his involvement in the Astros’ illegal sign-stealing in 2017.
Rojas received multiple interviews for the job following Mickey Callaway’s firing in October, and as of Tuesday there hadn’t been an indication general manager Brodie Van Wagenen had looked beyond internal candidates. Mets bench coach Hensley Meulens and first-base coach Tony DeFrancesco may also be in play.
Though his major league coaching experience is limited, Rojas — the son of Felipe Alou and brother of Moises Alou — managed in the Mets minor league system for eight seasons. He spent last season as Callaway’s quality control coach, charged with delivering analytical information to players and field staff. Rojas also has an advocate in the clubhouse in Robinson Cano, whose opinion is highly valued by Van Wagenen.
“I think [Rojas] is going to manage in the big leagues, whether it’s right now or in the future, I don’t know,” former Mets bench coach Jim Riggleman told The Post. “I found Luis to be very bright and he’s very much aware of the new information in the game, the analytics and all that, but he’s also got a good feel for the general strategies of the game, as he watched his father and his brother go through during their heyday.”
Riggleman, who managed five major league teams before arriving to the Mets last season, said Rojas’ combination of old school and new information is a desirable blend.
“He’s a smart guy and I think he checks all the boxes,” Riggleman said. “I like the path that he’s taken, working in the minor leagues and managing and coming to the big leagues last year as both a guy in uniform in the dugout, but also doing a lot of computer work behind the scenes and getting the information ready before the game.
“If the opportunity is there for him I think he will be good at it, but I thought that before Carlos was hired and there were so many candidates and they chose to go with Carlos, and Louie became one of the many candidates who didn’t get hired, but he and many others are very qualified.”
Eduardo Perez, who finished as a runner-up to Beltran in the previous managerial search, was scheduled to meet with Astros officials Tuesday about their opening (A.J. Hinch was fired last week after MLB suspended him a year for failing to stop the sign stealing). Perez has not been contacted by the Mets, according to a source.
Meulens has been linked to the Red Sox managerial position, which became open when Alex Cora was fired for his role in the Astros’ sign-stealing. Cora was the Astros bench coach in 2017.
Riggleman was asked if Rojas would be overmatched as a first-time manager who had to deal with the fishbowl of New York City.
“Personally, I think that gets overrated a little bit,” Riggleman said. “You guys [the media] are fair and I think he would experience that and as things do come up I think he would handle it diplomatically, but I feel that about a lot of guys.”