The New York Mets announced that the club has named Omar Minaya a Special Assistant to general manager Sandy Alderson.

Minaya, 59, spent the last three years as the Senior Advisor to the Executive Director for the Major League Baseball Players Association. Minaya worked for the Mets from Sept.23, 1997 until Feb. 11, 2002 where he was a Senior Assistant GM who was responsible for overseeing the Mets International Scouting department.

He returned to the organization on September 30, 2004 as the club’s General Manager, a role he held until October 4, 2010.

“Omar has a long history with the Mets,” said Alderson. “He has served the club well in many different areas. Omar will be a resource on scouting and player development, will consult on player acquisitions and will serve as a community ambassador. We are very happy to have him back in the organization.”

Minaya became baseball’s first Hispanic GM when he was appointed by MLB as the Vice President and General Manager of the Montreal Expos on February 12, 2002. Minaya served as the San Diego Padres VP of Baseball Operations from December, 2011-January, 2015.

“I’m excited to return to an organization that I love,” said Minaya. “I’m thrilled I can return to scouting and developing young talent. I look forward to working for Sandy and his staff.”