Mets Whittle GM Search to Two; Sandy Alderson, Josh Byrnes Finalists

And then there were two. The Mets have spent the last few weeks interviewing candidates to take over the general managing job from the recently disposed of Omar Minaya. Now it seems that the candidates have been whittled down to only two. That's according to a release from Mets chief operating officer Jeff Wilpon that was sent out on Friday afternoon.

"We are bringing back Josh Byrnes and Sandy Alderson for a second round of interviews with Fred, Saul and me. Josh is scheduled for Monday and Sandy for Tuesday as we continue our search for the next general manager of the Mets," he wrote.

"John Ricco and I spoke personally with Allard Baird, Rick Hahn, Logan White and Dana Brown earlier today to thank them for their interest and taking the time to interview with us."

Byrnes was previously the general manager of the Arizona Diamondbacks, spending nearly five years in the role before being fired in July. Alderson has been around a bit longer, as he got his start as president of the Oakland Athletics and oversaw the team during it's impressive run in the late 1980s, staying on as general manager until 1997. He also mentored current Athletics general manager Billy Beane.

Alderson then moved on to work in the commissioner's office as vice president of baseball operations until 2005. He also served as the CEO of the San Diego Padres for four years before resigning in March 2009.