CARLSBAD, Calif. — The Mets play in a vibrant city, in the largest market in Major League Baseball. They have passionate fans all over the region, country and world. Their stadium is only 12 years old. They have arguably the best pitcher in baseball in Jacob deGrom. And under their owner, Steven A. Cohen, the richest in baseball, the franchise has ample resources.
So why are the Mets, for a second straight off-season, struggling to lure someone to lead their baseball operations department?
“We’ve talked to a lot of people, probably half the people that are going to be here today,” Sandy Alderson, the president of the Mets, said on Tuesday morning with a chuckle while standing outside the hotel where M.