Former big-league catcher Chad Kreuter will take over as manager of the Single-A St. Lucie Mets in 2017, the team announced Thursday.
Kreuter, 52, comes from outside the Mets organization and will be the 17th field manager in St. Lucie history. He played 16 years as a catcher in the major leagues from 1988-2003.
"I'm extremely excited," Kreuter said in the team-issued statement. "It is an honor to be named a manager in professional baseball. The Mets are a great organization. They have shown the ability to produce great homegrown talent. It looks like it will continue that way so to be able to manage one of their young teams is really exciting.