The Mets have injected a tinge of youth into their search for a new head of baseball operations.

Chaim Bloom, the Rays’ senior vice president of baseball operations, interviewed with Mets officials this week for the seat vacated by Sandy Alderson, industry sources told The Post on Wednesday.

The 35-year-old Bloom is the youngest of the known candidates for the job. Others in the mix include former Brewers and Rangers GM Doug Melvin, Cardinals director of player development Gary LaRocque, Nationals special assistant De Jon Watson and MLB executive Kim Ng.

In addition, a league source indicated the Mets are considering Indians GM Mike Chernoff, but it’s unclear if an interview has been scheduled. Chernoff grew up in New Jersey and is the son of WFAN programing executive Mark Chernoff.

Bloom previously interviewed for GM openings in Milwaukee and Philadelphia. With the Rays he has belonged to a front office operating on a low budget that has managed to keep the team competitive.

“He is smart, more analytical side,” said a major league executive who knows Bloom, a Yale graduate who has spent the last 14 years working for the Rays.

Melvin, LaRocque and Watson, in particular, are viewed as older-school candidates with deep backgrounds in scouting and player development. Ng, who would be baseball’s first female GM, has a mix of experience in player development and analytics as part of a long résumé that includes front-office roles with the White Sox, Yankees and Dodgers.

LaRocque, a former Mets scouting director, has the endorsement of Hall of Fame manager Tony La Russa, as The Post reported Tuesday. La Russa reached out to a person involved in the search and recommended LaRocque, whom he had interviewed for GM as head of baseball operations with the Diamondbacks.

Last week former Red Sox GM Ben Cherington and Twins GM Thad Levine declined to be interviewed by the Mets . Among the challenges the organization faces is the perception that COO Jeff Wilpon is too involved in baseball operations.

And Wilpon may not have helped his cause in trying to attract top talent for the position by recently saying the Mets followed Alderson’s recommendations in deciding not to pursue high-end free agents and in keeping the analytics staff small, in comparison to other teams.

Also at issue is whether owner Fred Wilpon would approve the hiring of a younger, analytics-driven GM. Fred Wilpon, according to sources, would prefer an experienced candidate with a deep background in scouting and player development, where as Jeff Wilpon leans more toward the analytics side.

Jeff Wilpon and assistant GM John Ricco have been conducting the first round of interviews. Fred Wilpon is expected to become involved once the finalists are selected.