NEW YORK — A day after he was hired as the New York Mets’ bench coach, Jim Riggleman acknowledged he may be viewed as a manager in waiting should Mickey Callaway be fired.

“I certainly understand that, but I just don’t let myself go there,” Riggleman said Tuesday. “I really fully anticipate that the ballclub is going to pick itself up where it left off in the second half last year. I know the Mets did some really good things and got things going in the right direction.”

New York started 11-1 last season in Callaway’s first season as a manager, then struggled with injuries and faded to 44-63 by early August before finishing fourth in the NL East at 77-85.

“I don’t think there’s going to be any issue with any perception because I think we’re going to get that out of the way real quick by the way we work in spring training and the way we get out of the blocks in April as to what our ballclub is going to be able to do,” Riggleman said.

Riggleman’s agent, Burton Rocks, was contacted about the job by Mets senior adviser Omar Minaya even before new Mets general manager Brodie Van Wagenen was hired last month. The 66-year-old Riggleman interviewed about two weeks ago with Van Wagenen, Callaway, assistant general manager John Ricco and Minaya.

Riggleman was Cincinnati’s bench coach and became interim manager for the final 51/2 months last season. He led the Reds to a 64-80 record after the team’s 3-15 start under Bryan Price. David Bell was hired by the Reds on Oct. 21.

In a 2-1, 10-inning loss at Riggleman’s Reds on May 9, New York’s Asdrubal Cabrera and Wilmer Flores batted out of order because the handwritten lineup card given to umpires was different from a computer-printed version posted in the Mets’ dugout.

“It’s one that got by, but, believe me, it’s gotten by everybody who’s ever done this job,” Riggleman said. “Now, sometimes it happened in the minor leagues and it’s such an eye-opening experience for you that you just say, wow, as many times as we looked at that lineup, that one got by us.”

Riggleman also managed the Chicago Cubs (1995-99), Seattle (2008) and Washington (2009-11). He has a 726-904 (.445) record as a big league manager. He compared his new job under Callaway to his work with Jim Tracy with the Los Angeles Dodgers and with Price.

“Didn’t know each other well,” he said. “We knew each other as acquaintances, but we became very close friends professionally and personally.”

BREWERS: Catcher Erik Kratz and the Brewers agreed to a one-year contract that avoided salary arbitration.

Kratz hit .236 with six homers and 23 RBI in 219 plate appearances. The 38-year-old had a $1 million salary and earned $75,000 in performance bonuses based on plate appearances. He also excelled in Milwaukee’s division series win over the Colorado Rockies, going 5 for 8 in two games.

PIRATES: Outfielder Lonnie Chisenhall agreed to a $2.75 million, one-year contract with the Pirates, leaving the Cleveland Indians after eight seasons.

The Pirates are in need of help in the outfield while right fielder Gregory Polanco recovers from surgery on his left shoulder. Polanco is expected to be out until May after dislocating the shoulder during an awkward slide into second base in September.

The Pirates initially selected Chisenhall in the 11th round of the 2006 first-year player draft. He opted not to sign and was later selected by Cleveland in the 2008 draft.

AWARDS: Free-agent outfielder Curtis Granderson became the first three-time winner of the Marvin Miller Man of the Year, part of the players’ association’s Players Choice Awards.

The 37-year-old Granderson, the winner in 2009 and 2016, split last season between Toronto and Milwaukee. He was followed in the voting by Arizona first baseman Paul Goldschmidt and Los Angeles Angels outfielder Mike Trout. The award is given annually to a player for on-field performance and contributions to the community that inspire others.

Boston designated hitter J.D. Martinez was voted Player of the Year, Red Sox outfielder Mookie Betts was selected the AL’s Outstanding Player and Milwaukee’s Christian Yelich was chosen the NL’s Outstanding Player.

Tampa Bay lefty Blake Snell was the AL’s Outstanding Pitcher and New York Mets ace Jacob deGrom the NL’s Outstanding Pitcher. New York Yankees third baseman Miguel Andujar and Atlanta outfielder Ronald Acuna Jr. were the Outstanding Rookies. Free-agent outfielder Cameron Maybin and Los Angeles Dodgers outfielder Matt Kemp were the Comeback Players of the Year. Maybin was with Miami and Seattle this year.

GAMBLING: MGM Resorts International became Major League Baseball’s official gambling partner in the U.S. and Japan, a deal made as the sport tries to ensure more prevalent legal sports betting does not lead to any scandals of the type sparked by illegal wagers in its past.

“Over the past 18 months we’ve had various senior people in the office involved various aspects of the sports gaming project,” baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred said. “I think that we have ensured ourselves on the integrity front by updating our policies, making clear what employees and players can and cannot do on the one hand, and on the other developing clear guidelines for the commercial activity that central baseball, meaning Major League Baseball will engage in and similarly the kind of commercial activities that will be allowed on the club level, as well.”

The U.S. Supreme Court in May overturned the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act, which prohibited every state but Nevada from allowing betting on most sporting events.

Baseball was plagued by betting scandals in the 19th and early 20th centuries, the biggest a thrown World Series in 1919 that led to lifetime bans for eight Chicago “Black Sox” players imposed by the first baseball commissioner, Kenesaw Mountain Landis.

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