The Middletown Press (Middletown, CT)
New GM vows winning culture
NEW YORK — At first, the New York Mets reached out to Brodie Van Wagenen simply for recommendations.
Preparing to begin a general manager search last summer, Mets chief operating officer Jeff Wilpon already had a long relationship with Van Wagenen and figured the powerful player agent could offer some quality candidates thanks to his vast network of contacts developed during nearly two decades of negotiations.
Turned out, the more they talked, Wilpon started to think Van Wagenen himself was the right man for the job — despite his unorthodox background.
And when Wilpon late in the season suggested Van Wagenen switch sides at the bargaining table to take over the Mets’ baseball operations, Van Wagenen was intrigued. They discussed all the parameters over a private breakfast, and an atypical idea soon became a reality.
“I recognize I am not the
path of least resistance,” Van Wagenen said Tuesday.
At a crowded news conference Tuesday in a sprawling club area on the fifth floor of Citi Field, the 44-year-old Van Wagenen was introduced as the 13th general manager in Mets history. Given a four-year contract, he vowed to bring a winning culture of positivity to a stumbling organization coming off consecutive losing seasons.
“I intend for players to be the priority of this franchise going forward,” Van Wagenen said, wearing a necktie in the Mets’ blue and orange. “We have a lot of work to do in the coming days and weeks to build a championship roster and to put a good process in place for good decision-making. But I want to assure all Mets fans that every person in this organization will be fearless and relentless in our pursuit of greatness. Everyone will be working together in this effort.”
Wilpon detailed why he and his father, Mets owner Fred Wilpon, chose Van Wagenen to replace Sandy Alderson and build a “sustainable” winner from a list of about 40 initial names that was narrowed to 10-12 candidates and then three finalists.
“He’s a leader. He’s organized. He’s going to be collaborative with our entire staff,” Jeff Wilpon said. “He’s got a plan. He’s got a deep analytic background. He’s got deep scouting background. He finds players before we even get to see them in the minor leagues and things. His player development
and scouting will be tremendously important to the entire organization moving forward.”
Van Wagenen represented big names all around the majors, including Mets stars Jacob deGrom, Yoenis Cespedes and Todd Frazier. Seven players on the team’s current 40-man roster are clients at CAA Baseball, where Van Wagenen was co-head after co-founding the division in 2006.
And that number doesn’t even include another nowformer Van Wagenen client, Mets minor-leaguer Tim Tebow — the 2007 Heisman Trophy winner and ex-NFL quarterback.
Wilpon said he spoke with Commissioner Rob Manfred about the hire, and there are provisions in Van Wagenen’s contract that will insulate him from negotiations that could cause conflict of interest — such as deGrom’s pending salary arbitration.
Van Wagenen, who had to give up his career as an agent to take the Mets job, said he kept clients apprised of his plans throughout the process, and they were enthusiastic.
Van Wagenen voiced support for Mickey Callaway, who went 77-85 this year in his rookie season as Mets manager. The new GM also noted the valuable experience of assistant GM John Ricco and special assistants Omar Minaya and J.P. Ricciardi, the trio running baseball operations since Alderson stepped down in late June following a recurrence of cancer.
Jeff Wilpon has said he would like all three to return, but Van Wagenen said he hadn’t made any final decisions about his staff.