Rosenthal: Erik Neander “almost certainly” never leaves the raise

Poach Rays’ top executives, turn him into the next Andrew Friedman, and hug your horse for all Mets fans whose owners are willing to spend their money.

Ken Rosenthal Athletic Rays GM Erik Neander reports that he will “almost certainly” not leave Tampa Bay for Mets or any other club. The Angels, who just hired Braves’ Perry Minassian as their new general manager, contacted Neander about their opening, but he was reportedly unwilling to move, and Rays wants to lose the man who runs the baseball operations department. Absent.

Neander, 37, began working at Raise as a 24-year-old intern in 2007 and was slowly promoted to the role of Senior Vice President / GM in 2016.

After leading Rays from Oneonta, NY to the 96-66 season with a salary of only $ 68.9 million, he was named Executive of the Year in 2019 for his opposition to GM. It wasn’t even his most impressive feat. Raise finished the shortened 2020 season with 40-20, the best AL record, and was able to reach Game 6 of the World Series against the final champion. , Los Angeles Dodgers.

Neander’s dream seems dead, but Rosenthal opens the baseball club Mets, especially after a very impressive press conference held by CEO Steve Cohen and President Sandy Olderson on Tuesday afternoon. States “intriguing” the executives around the game.

The two specific names mentioned were Chris Antonetti, Indian President of Baseball Ops, and David Forst, Athletics GM. Rosenthal refused to interview Angels for personal reasons, but said that if Cohen and Alderson were interested, “it doesn’t necessarily prevent them from talking to Mets.”