Shortly after announcing that he is now officially the owner of the New York Mets, Steve Cohen made his first tough decision. The team announced that Executive Vice President & General Manager Brodie Van Wagenen is leaving the organization.
The press release also specified that Special Assistant to the General Manager Omar Minaya; Vice President, Assistant General Manager, Scouting & Player Development Allard Baird; Assistant General Manager, Systematic Development Adam Guttridge; and Executive Director, Player Development Jared Banner are leaving the New York Mets.
“I want to thank Brodie, Allard, Adam and Jared for their contributions over the last two years,†said Mets President Sandy Alderson. “I especially want to thank Omar for his long and distinguished service to the Mets in many important capacities.â€
The Mets will be looking for someone in charge of baseball operations
The note also says that Alderson “has begun the process of building a new baseball leadership group.”
“This is a significant milestone in the history of this storied franchise. I want to thank everybody who helped make this happen. The 2021 season is right around the corner and we’ve got a lot of work to do, so I’m excited to get started. Let’s go Mets!†were the words of Cohen.
Van Wagenen will be remembered for failing to make the playoffs in 2019 and 2020 despite high expectations. He netted the team J.D. Davis and signed Justin Wilson, but grossly overpaid for Robinson Cano and Edwin Diaz and his free agent track record was also not particularly good.
The now-former GM thanked the Mets and Jeff Wilpon for giving him the opportunity to be in charge and wished Cohen well.
“Congratulations to Steve Cohen on the purchase of your home-town team. I hope that your energy, competitiveness and resources will be welcomed by Major League Baseball. The sport can benefit from your fearlessness and aggressiveness,” Van Wagenen wrote in a statement.