I get that you guys have been preoccupied baseball-wise but wow do we need to talk about this. After a typically hilarious search for a new GM (66 year old Doug Melvin made the final 3, a guy who three years ago admitted the game had passed him by when he left MIL), the Mets just hired 44 year old Brodie Van Wagenen today.
If it wasn't for the horrific Wilpons, this job would be one of the better ones in baseball and guys would be elbowing each other out of the way to try to get interviews for it, but instead the majority of people they tried to interview knew better and passed, so they ended up with Van Wagenen. an agent with zero baseball personnel experience of any kind. On top of that, HE IS THE FREAKING AGENT for so so so many Mets, including most or all of the best ones:
"Van Wagenen and CAA represent outfielder Yoenis Cespedes and Brandon Nimmo, pitchers Jacob deGrom, Noah Syndergaard, Robert Gsellman and Jason Vargas, third baseman Todd Frazier, and prospects Tim Tebow, Anthony Kay David Peterson and Justin Dunn. Seven are on the active roster and three are top prospects."
One immediate thing jumps to mind, this is from just three months ago, July 16 before the trade deadline:
"The only thing shrinking faster than Jacob deGrom’s ERA is his agent’s patience with the Mets. Brodie Van Wagenen declared Monday that if the team did not intend to sign him to an extension in the near future, he should be traded.
“Jacob has expressed interest directly to them about being part of a long-term future and a long-term plan,” Van Wagenen said at Nationals Park. “They have expressed some interest in that same level of commitment. If that’s not their interest, then Jacob understands that this an environment where they may be better off moving him to accomplish their long-term goal.”"
https://www.newsday.com/sports/baseball/mets/jacob-degrom-contract-mets-1.19862662
I mean, the mind boggles, I don't even know where to start. Wagenen has already said he won't be part of upcoming arb hearings with his former clients like deGrom and Syndergaard but even if he is not there, what a ridiculous conflict of interest that is impossible to avoid once he is hired. My only guess at what will happen here is that Wagenen will funnel as much money as he can to all of his 'former' clients and then get himself fired and go back to repping them. Or something totally different, Mets have maybe never Metsed harder than this.
If it wasn't for the horrific Wilpons, this job would be one of the better ones in baseball and guys would be elbowing each other out of the way to try to get interviews for it, but instead the majority of people they tried to interview knew better and passed, so they ended up with Van Wagenen. an agent with zero baseball personnel experience of any kind. On top of that, HE IS THE FREAKING AGENT for so so so many Mets, including most or all of the best ones:
"Van Wagenen and CAA represent outfielder Yoenis Cespedes and Brandon Nimmo, pitchers Jacob deGrom, Noah Syndergaard, Robert Gsellman and Jason Vargas, third baseman Todd Frazier, and prospects Tim Tebow, Anthony Kay David Peterson and Justin Dunn. Seven are on the active roster and three are top prospects."
One immediate thing jumps to mind, this is from just three months ago, July 16 before the trade deadline:
"The only thing shrinking faster than Jacob deGrom’s ERA is his agent’s patience with the Mets. Brodie Van Wagenen declared Monday that if the team did not intend to sign him to an extension in the near future, he should be traded.
“Jacob has expressed interest directly to them about being part of a long-term future and a long-term plan,” Van Wagenen said at Nationals Park. “They have expressed some interest in that same level of commitment. If that’s not their interest, then Jacob understands that this an environment where they may be better off moving him to accomplish their long-term goal.”"
https://www.newsday.com/sports/baseball/mets/jacob-degrom-contract-mets-1.19862662
I mean, the mind boggles, I don't even know where to start. Wagenen has already said he won't be part of upcoming arb hearings with his former clients like deGrom and Syndergaard but even if he is not there, what a ridiculous conflict of interest that is impossible to avoid once he is hired. My only guess at what will happen here is that Wagenen will funnel as much money as he can to all of his 'former' clients and then get himself fired and go back to repping them. Or something totally different, Mets have maybe never Metsed harder than this.