Report: Mets close to hiring Gibbons as bench coach
Published
The New York Mets are close to hiring former Toronto Blue Jays manager John Gibbons as their bench coach, according to The Athletic's Will Sammon and Ken Rosenthal.
Gibbons would work under new manager Carlos Mendoza, who the Mets hired earlier this month.
The 61-year-old Gibbons had two separate stints as Toronto Blue Jays manager, spanning from 2004 to 2008 and again from 2013 to 2018.
Gibbons guided the Jays to a combined 793-789 record over 11 seasons, leading the team to the playoffs twice and their only playoff wins since 1993. Toronto won the American League East Division title in 2015 and came within two wins of the World Series, falling to the eventual champion Kansas City Royals in the American League Championship Series. The Jays finished second in the AL East in 2016 and advanced to the ALCS once again, but were eliminated by the Cleveland Guardians.
The Blue Jays limped to 76- and 73-win seasons in 2017 and 2018, respectively, leading president Mark Shapiro and general manager Ross Atkins to replace Gibbons with Charlie Montoyo in the dugout. Montoyo held that job for three and a half years before giving way to current manager John Schneider.
Toronto did not make the playoffs during Gibbons' first tenure as manager.
As a player, Gibbons was selected with the 24th pick in the 1980 MLB Draft and played a total of 18 games in the big leagues split between the 1984 and 1986 seasons.
The Mets are scheduled to play the Blue Jays in Toronto from Sept. 9 to Sept. 11.