Sandy Alderson will meet with the New York Mets at Citi Field on Thursday. There have been conflicting reports as to whether or not this meeting with be a second-round interview where he will speak with executives such as Dave Howard and David Cohen or if this is a continuation of a first-round interview as indicated by The New York Posts’ Dan Martin.

The New York Posts’ Joel Sherman says that Alderson is more than just a “frontrunner for the position”. He adds that the former Oakland Athletics’ GM and San Diego Padres CEO is “not a sure thing, but pretty darn close to it.”

Alderson wants to return to running a team and his passion to do so was clearly visible during his interview. Anderson also brings instant credibility and respect inside and outside of the organization.

The Mets have interviewed five other candidates in addition to Alderson, but it appears that Alderson is the only one to make the second-round. The team has already interviewed former Kansas City Royals GM Allard Baird, Chicago White Sox assistant GM Rick Hahn, former Arizona Diamondbacks GM Josh Byrnes, and Los Angeles Dodgers assistant GM Logan White. New York met with Toronto Blue Jay’s special assistant Dana Brown on Wednesday.

Martin says that the second round of interviews are expected to be scheduled for next week with selected candidates.