In the wake of the electronic sign-stealing scandal that ultimately left three MLB teams without managers, one is reportedly eyeing a relatively recent addition to the Mets' coaching staff.
The Red Sox "have shown interest" in recently hired Mets bench coach Hensley Meulens, according to a Sunday evening report from Jon Heyman of MLB Network.
A follow-up note from Heyman moments later added that the Mets had not contacted John Gibbons or Buck Showalter. Both are reportedly candidates for the Astros, whom Dusty Baker is focused on.
Boston is looking to replace former manager Alex Cora, whom the organization parted ways with after two years Tuesday evening, in the aftermath of MLB's investigative report into sign-stealing allegations against the Astros.
Cora, who spent the 2017 season as Houston's bench coach, was linked to sign-stealing accusations against the Astros that year when the team won the World Series.
The league was also investigating Cora's potential involvement using the same method with the Red Sox, who won the 2018 World Series in his first year as manager.
Houston, meanwhile, fired former manager A.J. Hinch -- along with general manager Jeff Luhnow -- after five years Tuesday afternoon following an MLB-determined suspension for the 2020 season.
The Mets agreed to mutually part ways with Carlos Beltran, still a player for the Astros in 2017, last Thursday after MLB named him among the players who discussed what later became a sign-stealing operation against league rules.
As the Mets have gone through the process, Meulens figured to be among four potential candidates for the job. SNY's Andy Martino, who laid out a timeline Friday of the latest news going into the weekend, reported Thursday that Luis Rojas came up as an internal candidate.
The 52-year-old Meulens spent the past 10 years -- two as bench coach -- with the San Francisco Giants on 13-year manager Bruce Bochy's staff.
Bochy retired at the end of the 2019 season. The Giants replaced Bochy with former Philadelphia Phillies manager Gabe Kapler (2018-19), who was hired Nov. 13.
Meulens interviewed in November 2017 for the Yankees' managerial opening after New York fired Joe Girardi (2008-17), whom the Phillies hired Oct. 24. The Yankees' position went to Aaron Boone, who enters Year 3 on the job in 2020.
Before he got his MLB coaching experience, Meulens' spent seven years from 2003-09 at the minor-league level. Meulens worked his way up through the Giants' organization, serving as the Triple-A affiliate's hitting coach in the Pacific Coast League before he became Bochy's hitting coach for 2010.
Meulens logged seven MLB seasons as a player, beginning with the Yankees throughout his first five years. He slashed .220/.288/.353 with 15 home runs and 53 RBI in 182 games, spending 1989-93 with the Yankees before returning for 1997-98 with the Montreal Expos and Arizona Diamondbacks.
