Winnipeg Free Press

Winnipeg Free Press (Newspaper) - December 13, 2020, Winnipeg, Manitoba C M Y K PAGE A14 A 14 SUNDAY, DECEMBER 13, 2020 ? WINNIPEGFREEPRESS.COMSPORTS I LIO ZITS THE ARGYLE SWEATER BIZARRO MOTHER GOOSE & GRIMM F MINUS PICKLES SIX CHIX BUCKLES NEW YORK - The Mets, suddenly on the fast track in their offseason plans, have landed on a general manager to work under Sandy Alderson. Jared Porter has received an offer from the Mets to become their next GM, a source confirmed to the Daily News. Porter has served as the Diamondbacks assistant GM for the past four seasons under GM Mike Hazen in the organization. The team has not yet made the hiring official, but the remainder of the process is expected to cross the finish line without any hiccups. Porter, 40, joined the D-backs after parts of two seasons with the Chicago Cubs. He served as the Cubs' director of professional scouting during their first world championship in 2016. He also worked in the Boston Red Sox's front office and won championships with the club in 2004, '07 and '13. He worked his way up the ladder in Boston's organiza- tion under Theo Epstein, beginning with his internship year in 2004 at the Red Sox's spring training facility in Fort Myers, Fla. Porter became the club's player development assistant from 2006-07 before moving on to scouting. He served in multiple scouting positions for the Red Sox from 2008 until 2015, when he was the team's director of professional scouting in what would end up being his final year in Boston. Porter is well-respected around the league and many believed his first opportunity to become a team GM was just around the corner. Steve Cohen's Mets are the first to take the chance on Porter in their lead GM role after Alderson axed Brodie Van Wagenen early last month. Alderson has led the team's baseball operations department this offseason once Cohen's deal to buy the Mets became official in early November. He will now share those duties with Porter while playing a larger role in day-to-day operations than he initially expected. The Mets originally wanted to hire a president of base- ball operations in addition to a GM, but shifted their plan following a lack of permission from teams to interview candidates. Though the Mets have been without a complete front-office structure, they have steadily executed their blueprint to improve the team's makeup on and off the field. This month the Mets inked Twins reliever Trevor May and White Sox catcher James McCann as their first big signings under the Cohen and Alderson leadership group. The Mets also have a new starting catcher - and it's not J.T. Realmuto. The Mets on Saturday agreed to a four-year, US$40 million-plus contract with free agent catcher James Mc- Cann, according to MLB Network insider Jon Heyman. - from the news services Mets making moves C OLUMBUS, Ohio - Lucas Zelar-ay�n scored midway through the first half and added the clincher in the 82nd minute and the Columbus Crew won their second MLS Cup title, beating the defending champion Seattle Sounders 3-0 on Saturday night. Derrick Etienne Jr. also scored in the first 45 minutes for Columbus. The Crew withstood Seattle's second-half pressure and finally celebrated after Zelaray�n's goal. Zelaray�n, the MLS newcomer of the year and largest signing in franchise history, was the best player on the field on a night the Crew were playing short-handed. Columbus was without midfielders Darlington Nagbe and Pedro Santos after both tested positive for COVID-19 this week. Despite the absences, the Crew were the decidedly better side and Zelaray�n was the instigator. Columbus claimed its first title since 2008 and denied Seattle a chance at being just the fourth back-to-back champions in league history. The Sounders, playing in their fourth final in five years, were trying to be the first repeat champions since the LA Galaxy in 2011-12. It was the first appearance in the final for Columbus since 2015 when the Crew were denied a title by the Portland Timbers and current Columbus coach Caleb Porter. The franchise was nearly relocated just a few years ago, but efforts to keep the team in Columbus proved successful and now there is a championship to celebrate. The loss of Nagbe and Santos seemed to be the biggest story entering the final. It was the first time this season Columbus played without either player in its lineup. But their teammates - namely Zelar- ay�n - made their absences moot. Zelaray�n scored in the 25th minute off a perfect feed from Harrison Afful, getting behind Seattle fullback Alex Roldan and snaking his left-footed volley past goalkeeper Stefan Frei. Six minutes later, Zelaray�n made the smart play finding Etienne and his curling shot gave Columbus a 2-0 lead. Etienne started in place of Santos. And Zelaray�n showed patience before rocketing a left-footed shot past Frei for the final goal. Zelaray�n was the third player in an MLS Cup final with two goals and the first since Alecko Eskandarian in 2004. Seattle needed a frantic comeback in the final 15 minutes of its Western Conference final against Minnesota United just to reach MLS Cup. Down 2-0 to Minnesota, the Sound- ers scored three times, including Gustav Svensson's winner in stoppage time off a corner kick. The deficit was the same for most of the second half against Columbus, but the magic of Seattle's comeback just five days earlier was absent. The Sounders had numerous chances in the second half, but attempts failed to find the net. Nicolas Lodeiro's shot through traffic in the 71st minute trickled wide. Three minutes later, Svensson's header off a corner kick failed to find the target. Jordan Morris had the final good look for Seattle in the 80th minute, but his header was saved by Eloy Room. - The Associated Press A one-man wrecking Crew Zelarayan scores brace as Columbus claims second MLS Cup title CREW 3 SOUNDERS 0 ? MORE SPORTS ON A18-19 JAY LAPRETE / THE ASSOCIATED PRESS The Crew's Lucas Zelarayan (right) storms past Seattle's Christian Roldan Saturday in Columbus, Ohio. A_14_Dec-13-20_FP_01.indd A14 12/12/20 10:48 PM ;