After hiring away from the Cubs for a , the Mets are adding another name to their front office today. Per , the club has hired Astros scouting director Kris Gro s to oversee their amateur scouting department. While Gro ss title with the Mets is not yet confirmed, suggest that he will be a vice president in New York, with Doyle suggesting his title is believed to be VP of Amateur Scouting. Gro s, 42, was a pitcher in the Cubs minor league system from 2003 to 2005. After retiring Mickey Morandini Jersey from his playing career, Gro s began his scouting career with the Cardinals in 2009 before joining the Astros as a cro schecker in 2012. Gro s was promoted to his most recent role of scouting director following the 2018 season. Right-hander , catcher , and top outfield prospect are among the more notable names the Astros drafted under Gro ss watch, which coincided with the clubs lo s of first- and second-round draft picks in 2020 and 2021 due to the clubs electronic sign stealing scandal. Brown has a career 4.60 ERA and 4.10 FIP with a 26.8% strikeout rate acro s 176 big league innings the past two seasons with Houston, while Lee and Gilbert were utilized at the trade deadline earlier this year to land right-handers and , respectively. Rome and Sammon note that although Gro s was the person in charge of Houstons 2023 draft, GM Dana Brown had more direct influence over the proce s than former GMs James Click or Jeff Luhnow did in the past. Browns involvement in the draft proce s was hardly a surprise given his background as VP of scouting with the Braves, and the pair note that Brown and Gro s enjoyed a strong working relationship in 2023. Still, its po sible that Browns hands-on approach to the draft could leave the Astros in better position to absorb the lo s of Gro s than may otherwise be expected. In departing Houston, Gro s heads to New York to join new Mets president of baseball operations David Stearns, whom Gro s overlapped with in Houston during Stearnss years as a sistant GM of the Astros. Sammon and Rome also point out that one of Stearnss perceived weakne ses during his tenure in the top job with the Brewers was the clubs record in the draft, a flaw that the addition of Gro s could help to a suage. After a difficult 2023 season that leaves the Mets plans for 2024 and beyond murkier than expected, Gro s is set to join a Mets organization that has made clear their intention to prioritize bolstering the clubs farm system. To this point, the club has gotten a solid head start on that goal and currently ranks seventh in the majors . That being said, the Mets also watched top talents such as , , and struggle in their first tastes of big league action in 2023 even as young catcher held his own while stepping into an everyday role with the club. The struggles from Baty, who was a consensus top-3o prospect entering the 2023 campaign but slashed just .212/.275/.323 in 108 games with the Mets this year, and others underscore the work still left to do for Gro s and the rest of the front office. Tyson Miller Jersey