Luis Rojas discusses end of Mets tenure, what led to joining Yankees as third base coach

Now that Luis Rojas is officially the Yankees' new third base coach, the former Mets manager explained what led to his departure from the organization after spending 16 seasons with them.

Rojas reiterated that he didn't know what his job status was despite numerous media questions about it down the final stretch. He ultimately got word that the Mets weren't picking up his option to manage in 2022, though a different position still with the organization was discussed.

“At the end of the season, that’s when I got the news," he told reporters at his introductory news conference with the Yankees. "I can share with everyone here, that’s not something you think on a day-to-day basis what’s going to happen in your contractual situation. So I think after the game we played into Atlanta, going into the next day I was looking forward to a conversation and I think I had the question a few times from the media about it and my honest answer was always that no one ever talked to me about it.

"After that, it’s always tough when you hear you’re not going to keep doing something you’ve been doing for a couple years. Changes sometimes surprise you, but changes are good things a lot of times. I think that after that, I had the freedom to talk to other teams, though an offer to remain in the organization was talked about in that last talk I had with the Mets. I didn’t give an answer, but I did have permission to talk to other teams.”

That led to multiple teams contacting Rojas. It was reported that he interviewed for the San Diego Padres managerial vacancy. Bob Melvin would eventually fill it. 

But Yankees manager Aaron Boone connected with Rojas over the phone just as he was getting ready to go to the Dominican Republic for the offseason. From there, they had a few conversations and Rojas was eventually linked in the team's interview process for Boone's next coaching staff. 

"Aaron was the first manager that called me when I got the manager position with the New York Mets," Rojas said. "He was the first one that called me over the phone and actually left a message. I couldn’t answer it on time. I called back and we connected, but he was welcoming me to the city as the manager of one of the two teams. I thought that was pretty neat. Immediately, we established a really good connection."

While serving as third base coach, Rojas will also be working with the Yankees' outfielders. 

During his tenure as Mets manager, Rojas owned a 103-119 record, which includes this past season's 77-85 mark.

Now, with Billy Eppler set to take over baseball operations for the Mets, the search for Rojas' replacement begins. 

SNY's Andy Martino is hearing from sources that Eppler will be arriving with candidates, which could include Brad Ausmus, Joe Espada, and Eric Chavez.