Even though Randolph will be paid by the Mets to sit at home and do nothing, Ken Davidoff says he's itching to get back to managing. Some teams that are interested are the Milwaukee Brewers, Seattle Mariners, and even the Washington Nationals, who already have a manager in Manny Acta.
Acta, you most likely remember, was with the Mets as a third base coach for some time, and seemed in line for the next managerial job with them before he signed with the Nationals.
From Davidoff:
Acta has huge supporters in the Mets front office, including COO Jeff Wilpon, general manager Omar Minaya and vice president of development Tony Bernazard. Many executives in the industry interpreted the Mets' tepid, two-year, $2-million contract to Jerry Manuel as a sign that, should the Mets falter in 2009 and Acta become available, the Mets could easily replace Manuel with Acta.An update on Bernazard: He was not selected as one of the finalists for the Seattle GM job.
These seems like a confusing game of managerial musical chairs. I think Manuel will stick, barring a terrible start or half season with the Mets.
I never really loved Acta, but he was only a third base coach, something the Mets seem to have a hard time finding a decent one these days.