The Mets were denied permission to interview San Francisco Giants pitching coach Andrew Bailey for their vacant bench coach position, according to Ken Rosenthal.

Bailey has served as the Giants' pitching coach since prior to the 2020 season. The Giants had the second-lowest ERA (3.25) in all of baseball last season, behind only their division rival Los Angeles Dodgers. Their bullpen pitched to a 2.99 ERA in 2021, the best in baseball, en route to a 107-win season, and coming one swing away from advancing to the NLCS.

Bailey was a pitcher in the big leagues for nine years, winning the 2009 AL Rookie of the Year with the Oakland A's, and being named an All-Star the following season. He also played for the Boston Red Sox, Los Angeles Angels, Philadelphia Phillies, and New York Yankees.

Bailey worked under Mets general manager Billy Eppler as an instant replay coordinator and coaching assistant with the Angels. He also was the Angels' bullpen coach in 2019.

Earlier this week, the Mets were also denied permission to interview San Francisco Padres quality control coach Ryan Flaherty.

Rosenthal noted that it was odd for the Padres to not give the Mets a chance to interview Flaherty considering it would have been a promotion, but they do think he's a gem in their system. However, in Bailey's case, some executives, per Rosenthal, felt that going from pitching coach to bench coach wasn't necessarily a promotion.

Also according to Rosenthal, it's too deep into the offseason for big staff changes like that to be made, also playing a role into the denial.

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