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Report: Mets COO had 90-minute meeting with GM, manager

Paul Bereswill / Getty Images Sport / Getty

New York Mets COO Jeff Wilpon had a 90-minute-long closed-door meeting with general manager Brodie Van Wagenen and skipper Mickey Callaway on Friday, in the midst of a 4-10 skid during which the team has failed to string consecutive wins together, according to Joel Sherman of the New York Post.

While no one in the room had their job threatened, Mets ownership was clear that the direction of the team must change and differ from last year's early-season slide. According to Sherman, the team's preference is to avoid a midseason change in manager.

"The meeting was about, 'How can we be better? How can we get going in the right direction?'" Callaway told Anthony DiComo of MLB.com following Friday's rout of the Miami Marlins. "None of us are satisfied with what's been going on to this point."

The Mets entered the 2019 campaign putting a target on their backs, as Van Wagenen - entering his first season as the club's GM - stated: "We're the favorites in the division right now." The on-field product hasn't lived up to expectations thus far, as the team sits third in the NL East at 17-20 and is posting the fourth-worst run differential in the Senior Circuit at minus-27. Only the San Francisco Giants (minus-29), Pittsburgh Pirates (minus-41), and Miami Marlins (minus-79) have been worse.

New York's start to the 2019 season has been a similar one to last year, as the club stormed out of the gate early in 2018, posting an 11-1 record. However, by early May, the Mets had slumped to 17-15, slipping to third in the division, which they never came back from.

Callaway is in his second season at the helm of the team and possesses a 94-105 record since replacing Terry Collins. Before being hired by Sandy Alderson - Van Wagenen's predecessor - Callaway was the pitching coach for the Cleveland Indians. This past winter, Van Wagenen added Jim Riggleman - who has 13 years of managerial experience - as the Mets' bench coach.

So far, only one team in the NL East - the Philadelphia Phillies - has a winning record and a positive run differential.

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