The Mets are in transition, which also means they have the opportunity to reimagine their franchise and get in line with how the most successful teams in baseball are currently operating. And there are five rising executives they should consider when they begin their GM search in the coming months -- Doug Harris, Jared Porter, Kim Ng, Jason McLeod, and J.J. Piccolo.

The current CBA has resulted in teams either cutting payroll and restocking their farm system or going all in, right now, for a World Series title. The teams that try to play in between, like the Mets, are only killing time before needing to choose between one of the above two options.

There is nothing in the team's history to suggest they will increase payroll by $100 million to land Bryce Harper and Manny Machado. And, even if they did, this would not solve their biggest problem, which is the desperate need of more, better, younger talent ready to produce in Citi Field.

"That franchise needs to stop overthinking everything," a former Mets fan and now front-office executive with an NL Central team told me. "Their next President of Baseball Operations has to be someone with a rich background in scouting and player development and, maybe most important, (he or she) has to understand how to time the ascension of talent to the big leagues."

That last qualification refers to having multiple prospects moving from the minors to the major leagues at roughly the same time. This is something the Cubs, Astros, and Yankees have done exceptionally well, in the opinion on my NL Central friend.

2015: Cubs players Kris Bryan and Anthony Rizzo. Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

It seems like just yesterday the Mets had the most promising young talent in the NL East. The quick and sad reality is that they may now have the least.

The Phillies are currently loaded with young hitting in a ballpark where anyone can jack a home run. The Braves have already-developed young hitters and have a treasure trove of young pitching. The Nationals, who I had hoped would be entering the downside of their success curve, now have Victor Robles, Juan Soto and Trea Turner to build around at a time when they're about to rid themselves of Harper's salary. And the Marlins, who were supposed to be the laughing stock of baseball after a massive sell-off, suddenly have a crop of new blood challenging the Mets for last place in the division.

In the wake of Sandy Alderson stepping down as GM for health issues, his current assistants John Ricco and J.P. Ricciardi and advisor Omar Minaya have been challenged to think creatively when it comes to improving the franchise.

They have also been given the green light to recommend whatever path is necessary, including whether to do a total rebuild by trading Jacob deGrom and Noah Syndergaard.

"Sandy was on the record with one point of view," Ricco told reporters Wednesday, referencing his former boss' position on staying the course. However, Ricco continued, "For me, everything has to be on the table. ... I'm really excited about the challenge that ownership has put in front of us."

That said, as SNY's Andy Martino wrote, the Mets plan to interview other candidates and hire a permanent replacement for Alderson after this season ends.

I've also heard from people connected to the team that, much like the Giants and Jets recently did, Mets ownership will likely hire a consulting research committee to identify an organizational philosophy and vet candidates that can bring it to life.

Ricco and Ricciardi will and should be among the candidates under consideration.

However, I recently asked my usual five front office friends (with teams outside New York) to list for me two or three people that have earned being next in line to run a team.

In total, eight names were mentioned more than once. Of them, these five best fit what the Wilpons should be looking for in their next President of Baseball Operations...

Doug Harris

Harris, 48, is Assistant General Manager and Vice President of Player Personnel for the Nationals. He also oversees the development of talent and roster management for all levels of their minor league system. Prior to becoming a scout and team executive, Harris pitched seven years in the minor leagues before retiring as a player in 1996.

"He'd be a very strong candidate," former GM John Hart told the Washington Post in 2016. "He brings a field and scouting background into everything. He understands analytics and creative pieces, but he also has really good feel for players and the game."

According to friends in D.C., Harris is known in the organization as "Mr. Clean," mostly because of his shaved head, but also due to his obsessive attention to detail.

Jared Porter

Porter, 37, is Senior Vice President and Assistant General Manager with the D-backs. He is a Theo Epstein disciple. The two worked together in Boston for 12 seasons, followed by another season with the Cubs, during which the two celebrated four World Championships.

The overwhelming majority of Porter's front office experience is in analyzing talent and organizing the professional scouting departments for Epstein and current D-backs GM Mike Hazen.

"He does a good job using statistics and metrics to evaluate big-league players," an advocate for Porter with an NL team told me. "The most important thing, though, is that he not only helped Theo build the modern day Red Sox, he helped him recreate the exact same system in Chicago."

Kim Ng

Ng, 49, is Senior Vice-President for Baseball Operations for Major League Baseball. She has interviewed to be GM of the Dodgers and Brewers and was reportedly considered by the Twins, among other teams. Ng attended grade school in Queens, where she rooted for the Yankees and played stickball on the corner of 173rd Street and 65th Avenue.

She first entered MLB as an intern with the White Sox before eventually becoming their Assistant Director of Baseball Operations. In 1998, at 29 years old, she was recruited by Yankees GM Brian Cashman to be his Assistant General Manager, making her the youngest person ever to hold that position. She eventually left the Yankees to be Vice President and Assistant GM for the Dodgers, whom she temporarily ran during the 2011 MLB Winter Meetings after the team fired Paul DePodesta.

In 2017, Fast Company named her one of the most creative people in business, not just sports.

I had the honor of meeting Ng in 2012. She was wearing her patented tinted sunglasses and stoic face. I found her to be incredibly tenacious and focused on her job. The truth is that she's probably been through more scrutiny and back talk during her career than any of her male counterparts and yet she has never allowed that to define her, which I respect.

She's beyond qualified to run the Mets, and possibly the perfect choice given her roots in and experience with the market. I'd be proud if the Mets freed her up to finally run a team on her own.

The same day I met her, I met Joe Torre, who praised his colleague and emphatically pumped up her qualifications and readiness to run a team.

"She is a terrific negotiator, great at building relationships. She's very persuasive and very competitive," he explained. "She knows our game inside and out, and at every level."

Jason McLeod

McLeod, 44, has been Senior Vice President of Scouting and Player Development for the Cubs since 2011, during which he oversaw drafts that produced Kris Bryant and Kyle Schwarber. Similarly, during his time in Boston, McLeod watched over drafts that produced Dustin Pedroia, Jacoby Ellsbury, Jed Lowrie and Josh Reddick.

"There's probably not a better scouting and player development guy out there," Cubs GM Jed Hoyer recently told the Chicago Tribune. "He has all the skills to do every other part of the job."

McLeod and Hoyer worked together with the Padres before joining Epstein and McLeod in Boston, after which all four moved on to work for the Cubs.

J.J. Picollo

Picollo, 47, was born in Cherry Hill, NJ. He is currently Assistant GM and Director of Player Development and Scouting for the Royals, with whom he joined in 2006. Before working for the Royals, he spent seven seasons in player development and minor league operations with the Braves.

Royals GM Dayton Moore has repeatedly referred to Picollo as being one of his "top lieutenants," "a tremendous leader," and, "a big part of Kansas City's recent success."

The Phillies, Astros, Twins, and D-backs are among the known teams to interview him the last few seasons when trying to to fill vacancies at GM.

Interestingly, Picollo's son, Mike, was drafted in the 33rd round by the Mets earlier this month.

Matthew Cerrone (Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Contact) is lead writer of MetsBlog.com, which he created in 2003. He also hosts the MetsBlog Podcast, which you can subscribe to here. His new book, The New York Mets Fans' Bucket List, details 44 things every Mets fan should experience during their lifetime. To check it out, click here!

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