The New York Mets have introduced Brodie Van Waganen as their new General Manager. The formulated directly at the start a clear goal.
Van Wagenen, who has worked as an agent for the CAA Sports agency since 2006 and represented numerous high-calibre clients, made it immediately clear that manager Mickey Callaway would remain in office. “I fully support him,” Van Wagenen said.
In addition, he formulated the clear goal of retaining his former client Jacob deGrom for the long term. “I believe that Jacob deGrom is an incredible talent and I hope to hold him for a very long time.”
The Chief Operating Officer of the Mets, Jeff Wilpon, spoke of an exhaustive GM search that had once begun with a list of 40 names. The list was reduced to ten to twelve and finally to three before the decision was taken.
Wilpon explained what made him and his father, team owner Fred Wilpon, decide in favour of Van Wagenen: “He is a leader. He’s very well organized. He will work in partnership with our entire staff. He’s got a plan. He has a broad analytical background. He finds players before we even see them in the minor leagues. His player development and scouting will be enormously important for the entire organization.”
Wilpon continued: “He will bring in enthusiasm. And he will bring a different view of things that will be different from the traditional GMs we had.”
Van Wagenen represented deGrom as well as Yoenis Cespedes and Todd Frazier, who are currently under contract with the Mets. There are a total of seven players in the team who are represented by CAA Baseball. Van Wagenen co-founded the agency in 2006 and was co-director.
Wilpon stated that he had discussed the matter with the commissioner’s office and the players’ union, and that there were certain provisions in the CTM’s contract to avert conflicts of interest.
Van Wagenen himself explained that he had kept his clients up to date at all times on the progress of negotiations with the Mets. And, moreover, he had already sold his shares in the agency.
This article was published without prior review by Major League Baseball.