Van Wagenen 'leaving' Mets after 2 seasons
The New York Mets announced Friday that general manager Brodie Van Wagenen is leaving the organization a little over two years after he was hired.
Four of Van Wagenen's front-office associates are also no longer with the team. Assistant GM of scouting and player development Allard Baird, assistant GM of systematic development Adam Guttridge, executive director of player development Jared Banner, and special assistant Omar Minaya - himself a former Mets GM - departed alongside Van Wagenen.
The moves come just hours after the Mets' sale to billionaire Steve Cohen officially closed. Cohen rehired Sandy Alderson - whom Van Wagenen replaced as the club's GM - as team president in his first official move.
"I want to thank Brodie, Allard, Adam, and Jared for their contributions over the last two years," Alderson said. "I especially want to thank Omar for his long and distinguished service to the Mets in many important capacities."
"We took a team that had suffered losing seasons in 2017 and 2018 to contention in 2019 and onto a chance for real success in 2020," Van Wagenen said in his own statement. "The energy and excitement of the fans in 2019 will stay in our minds forever. While we didn't reach our goal in 2020, the work that you put in to keep everyone safe and healthy in the midst of the COVID-19 threat played a significant role in the return of, and the successful completion of, the Major League Baseball season."
A statement from Brodie Van Wagenen: pic.twitter.com/iqIGRaQAYu
— Anthony DiComo (@AnthonyDiComo) November 6, 2020
Many were shocked when the Mets hired Van Wagenen after the 2018 season. Although he was known to the club as the agent for some of its most prominent players - including Yoenis Cespedes and Jacob deGrom - he hadn't logged any previous front-office experience.
Van Wagenen made a flurry of immediate moves to push the Mets into contention, including trading several top prospects for All-Stars Robinson Cano, Edwin Diaz, and Marcus Stroman, plus signing veteran infielder Jed Lowrie. But those deals weren't enough, as the Mets compiled a 112-110 record over his tenure while failing to make the playoffs.
New York finished eight games below .500 during the shortened 2020 season, tying the Washington Nationals for fourth place in the NL East. It was the team's first time finishing in the basement of the division since 2003.
Alderson will now lead the building of the Mets' new baseball operations leadership. Going forward, all of the team's employees will report to him, a source told SNY's Andy Martino.