AGENT OF CHANGE

Source: Mets are going with player rep Van Wagenen as new general manager

The Mets are going outside the box again. This time, they have a deal in principle to hire high-profile player agent Brodie Van Wagenen to be their general manager, an industry source has confirmed to the Daily News. The Mets denied that an agreement has been reached but said the earliest an announcement would be coming is after the World Series. It is customary not to announce new hires during the Series. A potential Game 7 would be played on Wednesday.

The 44-year-old Van Wagenen will inherit an organization that has been in turmoil for the last two years, and that includes their 2017 “outside the box,” hire of a manager in Mickey Callaway.

The Mets chose Van Wagenen over a more traditional candidate in Chaim Bloom, the 35-year-old senior vice president of baseball operations for

the Rays. Former Rangers and Brewers GM Doug Melvin also received a second-round interview for the job, which opened at the end of June. Alderson stepped down citing a recurrence of the cancer he fought through during the 2016 season and also citing he would not return based on merit. Van Wagenen comes to the job from an unusual perspective. He is very familiar with the ownership of Fred Wilpon and Saul Katz and the leadership of COO Jeff Wilpon, because he has dealt with them on several high profile deals over the past few years. Van Wagenen was the co-head of CAA’s baseball division, which represents seven players currently on the Mets’ major league roster: Jacob deGrom, Yoenis Cespedes, Todd Frazier, Brandon Nimmo, Noah Syndergaard, Jason Vargas and Robert Gsellman. CAA also represents two of the Mets most highprofile minor leaguers in former NFL quarterback and Heisman Trophy winner Tim Tebow and 2016 firstround pick

The Mets are expected to hire super-agent Brodie Van Wagenen as next GM in controversial move, but he can silence critics by winning.