New York Mets: Brodie Van Wagenen bringing much needed change

The New York Mets made a surprise move in hiring Brodie Van Wagenen as the new general manager. However, he has brought much needed change to the franchise.

The New York Mets made a big move early in the off-season when they hired their new general manager. Brodie Van Wagenen, the agent to prominent team members such as Jacob deGrom was the choice.

When the move occurred, I took to the pages here to declare that the move didn’t make any sense. The Mets were just doing Mets things as always and this move was the wrong way to go. An existing baseball executive would have been far smarter.

Today I go back on that opinion. I was dead wrong on this move, and I throw my full support behind Brodie.

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Since Brodie’s arrival there has been a different sense around the organization. Have you noticed?

There just seems to be more of a “can do” attitude, despite what we know about our “favorite” ownership group.

The Mets are making moves.

They hired Jim Riggleman, someone with managerial experience to help Mickey Callaway with in-game decisions.

Whether you are a fan of the entire deal or not, the Mets brought in a professional hitter in Robinson Cano and a top closer in Edwin Diaz.

That is not the only move so far. Not by a long shot.

Jeurys Familia has been brought back on a three-year deal to set up for Diaz. This one-two punch has the potential to bring a stability to the Mets bullpen that hasn’t been seen in years.

They worked hard to bring in J.T. Realmuto. There were packages discussed that included Noah Syndergaard, but the price proved to be too much for the rookie general manager.

But did he sit on his hands and go into next year standing pat at catcher? No he did not. Brodie Van Wagenen knew a change had to be made and he made one.

With Realmuto out of the picture he decided to bring in Wilson Ramos instead. At 31 years old, they did the smart thing and only brought him in on a two-year deal.

Ramos was an All Star in 2018, sitting right in the center of his prime. He can be the number one at the position for the next two seasons or so, and that will give the Mets time to groom a replacement.

So their second choice was a career .273 hitter and an All Star. That’s not too bad for someone to settle upon, huh?

Next. Rivera is the forgotten man. dark

What Brodie is doing is always looking forward. He understands that the Mets, as they were constructed when he was hired, were not set up to win any time soon. They had the pitching but not much else.

His eyes are wide open and he is looking outside the box. Even more importantly, he has found a way to work within the confines of the Wilpon budget structure. To do that and still improve the team is some kind of miracle in and of itself.

That’s why Brodie Van Wagenen is, in fact, the right man for this job. I’m not too proud to admit I was wrong, and I was absolutely wrong here.

My confidence is in Brodie to lead the direction of this roster forward into the near future, and hopefully the long-term as well.

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