As the New York Mets stumble out of the stupor of their nightmarish past season, they find themselves on the hunt for a new manager. The geriatric Terry Collins was reassigned to a front office position at the conclusion of the season, leaving New York rudderless for the first time in 7 years. That is not to say Mets fans are all that upset: Collins’ old-school approach to player rest and bullpen management were controversial among fans and players alike, and despite his leading the Mets to an unlikely 2015 National League Pennant, a recent Newsday hit piece quoted a Mets player who described Terry’s clubhouse as “miserable.”

The Mets need young blood. They need analytical thinking. They need someone who can connect to stars and unproven prospects alike. In short, the Mets need Alex Cora to be their next manager.

Cora played fourteen seasons in the majors, notably winning a World Series ring with the 2007 Boston Red Sox, then worked as a color commentator for ESPN and ESPN Deportes from 2013 to 2016. He became the bench coach for the Houston Astros after the 2016 season, just in time to join them for their 101-win 2017 campaign, and served as the general manager for Puerto Rico’s enthralling runner-up finish at the 2017 World Baseball Classic.

Though Cora does not have experience as a major league manager, he apprenticed for a year under a fine role model in Astros manager A.J. Hinch. Hinch provides a steadying hand to a team built by analytics and powered by its core of explosive young stars, and it’s easy to picture Cora having the same impact on the Mets.

Cora’s presence would, at the very least, move the Mets lineup management into the 21st century. Even as baseball increasingly moved to a numbers-driven, statistical approach over the past decade, Collins was reluctant to give in, telling USA Today in 2016 that he didn’t “enjoy it like other people do.”

On the other hand, after working in such a successful analytical system with the Astros, Cora would likely embrace such strategies in a managerial role. Mets General Manager Sandy Alderson, a progenitor of Moneyball tactics during his time in Oakland, would finally have a numbers-driven manager to work with in New York. Alderson in the past attempted to inject analytics into the dugout in the form of hitting coach Kevin Long, and that has been a general success: the Mets have finished among the top three teams in the National League in home runs every year of Long’s tenure (per Baseball Reference), and Daniel Murphy credits Long with transforming him into a bona fide star.

Perhaps even more important is Cora’s ability to connect with the clubhouse. Former Met and current Astro Carlos Beltran endorsed Cora’s geniality in a recent interview with the New York Post, saying, “he takes a lot of pride into his relationship with the players.” Beltran painted a picture of Cora which starkly contrasts with the recent Newsday report of Collins, who allegedly only paid attention to veterans like pitcher Matt Harvey or slugger Yoenis Cespedes.

There may have been numerous reasons for Collins’ distant relationship with his players. At 68, he was the oldest manager in the league, making it harder for him to connect with young players like prospects Dominic Smith and Amed Rosario. Additionally, Collins never seemed to connect as impactfully with Spanish-speaking players like Rosario or utilityman Jose Reyes. The 41-year-old Puerto Rico native Cora would remedy both of these issues. Cora already has relationships with pitcher Seth Lugo and infielder T.J. Rivera from the Puerto Rico WBC squad, and Beltran’s comments seem to indicate that it wouldn’t take Cora long to form strong relationships in New York.

It is not fair to pin New York’s horrendous season entirely on Collins; injuries ravaged the once-fearsome rotation and pitching vastly underperformed expectations. Still, the cold clubhouse environment and stodgy strategies cultivated under Collins stripped the Mets of their fight and their ability to overcome adversity. The Mets must make a drastic change to revitalize the franchise and return to the postseason, and the analytical, charismatic Alex Cora would be the best man to lead the charge.