Zack Scott named acting general manager

The Mets announced this afternoon that Zack Scott will serve as the acting general manager, effective immediately. This news comes in the aftermath of Jared Porter’s firing on January 19, less than 12 hours after an ESPN report surfaced detailing his sexual harassment of a female reporter during his time with the Cubs. Porter served as the Mets’ general manager under Sandy Alderson for less than a month prior to his firing.

Zack Scott was hired soon after Porter on December 23 to serve as senior vice president and assistant general manager to Porter. Scott himself had been a finalist for the general manager position and his career path runs parallel to Porter’s from his time as a Red Sox intern, serving 17 years in the Red Sox organization, to now assuming the helm with the Mets. During his last two years as assistant GM in Boston, Scott oversaw the club’s analytics, baseball systems and advance and professional scouting departments and he will likely be a very analytics-focused executive.

“Zack has plenty of championship experience to draw upon,” said Mets President Sandy Alderson in a statement. “He has been an integral part of our decision-making processes since his arrival. The entire baseball operations staff, including myself, will continue to work collaboratively.”

When asked about a replacement during the press conference after Porter’s firing, Alderson remained vague, saying that an outside hire would not happen this far along in the offseason. But, as Andy Martino of SNY reports, the likely hope was always for Scott to grow into the role and he has been acting as the de facto GM since Porter’s departure. Today’s title change makes his new role official.