Four months after Sandy Alderson “stepped down,” the New York Mets search for a new general manager is officially coming to an end.
This weekend it was announced that the team has agreed to terms with agent Brodie Van Wagenen to become their next general manager. Though the deal not yet “official,” the team will likely hold a press conference at Citi Field as early as Tuesday.
Van Wagenen, 44, is very well respected within the industry, and is seen as a “master negotiator.”
To some, Van Wagenen is very much worth the risky, outside the box signing. However, not everyone around the game is on board with the Wilpons’ final decision.
As Buster Olney of ESPN notes, “folks on all sides of the industry, from MLB to the union to club management find the choice to be bizarre and inevitably problematic.”
Olney adds that “among many baseball officials and agents familiar with the Mets’ organization and the challenges and complications Van Wagenen will face, there are ominous forecasts of disaster.. They see an organization inexplicably accelerating toward a cliff.”
Among the “endless list” of potential conflicts, Olney mentions Van Wagenen’s past relationships with former clients within and outside the organization, as well as his relationships with fellow agents and executives around the game.
Olney also mentions that his prior knowledge and preparation of the arbitration cases of former clients and now employees, Noah Syndergaard and Jacob deGrom, could cause another conflict for the new GM in Queens.
Olney didn’t stop there, as he went on to knock Van Wagenen’s lack of experience for the position, saying he is “as qualified to be the Mets’ first baseman as he is to run the organization’s baseball operations.”
“It’s going to take Brodie awhile to get his feet under him. By the time he has a chance to get through that learning curve, he’s going to get swallowed up.” one longtime executive told Olney.
Let’s cut Brodie Van Wagenen some slack, I understand he was not most of our first choices for this opening, but the man is more than qualified for the position.
I understand the point that he has never held this position before, but the way I look at it.. a lack of experience does not equal a lack of qualifications. Lets at least give Van Wagenen a shot to show us what he can do before we start jumping to conclusions.
