In just over a month Zack Scott has gone from runner-up in the Mets’ general manager sweepstakes to the team’s assistant GM and now acting GM.
Scott, 43, was named to that position Wednesday, a week after Jared Porter was fired for harassing a female journalist with lewd text messages in 2016 when he worked for the Cubs.
Scott spent 17 seasons in the Red Sox front office until joining the Mets in December to oversee the analytics and systems departments. During his tenure with the Red Sox the team won three World Series titles.
“Zack has plenty of championship experience to draw upon,” Mets president Sandy Alderson said in a statement. “He has been an integral part of our decision-making processes since his arrival. The entire baseball operations staff, including myself, will continue to work collaboratively.”
The title “acting GM” suggests the Mets will re-evaluate their front office structure including Scott after he holds the job for a period of time. Alderson’s initial plan upon returning to the organization, under new owner Steve Cohen, was to hire a president of baseball operations and GM. But after failing to attract top candidates for the president of baseball ops position, Alderson essentially morphed his job overseeing the entire organization into that role.
Porter, a former executive with the Diamondbacks, was hired into the GM role and most notably was involved in the trade negotiations that brought Francisco Lindor and Carlos Carrasco to the Mets in a deal that sent Andres Gimenez, Amed Rosario, Isaiah Greene and Josh Wolf to Cleveland. The Mets fired Porter, 41, a day after ESPN reported his harassment of the female reporter.
Alderson’s cabinet also includes senior strategy officer John Ricco, vice president of amateur and international scouting Tommy Tanous, head of pro scouting Bryn Alderson, senior director of baseball operations Ian Levin, director of research and development Ben Zauzmer, research and development manager Joe Lefkowitz and director of player development Kevin Howard.