Meet The Mets New GM

Things might start to be on the up and up for the New York Mets. At least that's what it looks like on paper right now. In a press conference on Tuesday, the Mets introduced Brodie van Wagenen as the 13th in the history of the club. Van Wagenen comes from the world of baseball agent to the world of baseball general manager. It's a demanding and high pressure job in one of the most demanding sports markets in all the world.

Brodie does have a ;little bit of baseball experience. He played baseball at Stanford in 1993 and 1994 and graduated with a bachelor's degree in communication in 1996. His biggest claim to fame in the business as a baseball agent was getting the sparkling $75 million contract for Yoenis Cespedes that the Mets signed him to.== Oh yeah, he also made Robinson Cano the second ever $200 million man when Cano signed with the Mariners a few years back. He has a working knowledge of baseball, and the market with which the players run on. But this is where it gets interesting.

I'm sure that Brodie can get the job done, but it does feel odd seeing him hired to run this baseball team. He's coming from the world of sports agent, his former company being responsible for representing Jacob deGrom, Noah Syndeergard and Yoenis Cespeds, among others. This leads to a point of contention for Van Wagenen in his new role. You see, as an agent, Brodie’s chief concern was maximizing his client’s worth and making them as much money as they can get on the market. Now, as a GM, he must find a way to make the player happy and also do what’s financially best for the organization.

It puts him in a unique position. I'm hoping his knowledge and experience as an agent can give him a different insight into running a team as a GM. He knows what the players are looking for when they go into negotiations and free agency and what not. I think that might give him a step up as to what to do when it comes to the table. At the same time it can be a down side because he's never had the experience of running a baseball team from a management position. I'm sure that having Omar Minaya as one of his senior advisors will be a big help.

Van Wagenen has shown he's been able to get the big players the big bucks. If the Mets ever open up the wallets and get the cash to actually spend on players and build a solid team, he could be a good guy to lead the charge in the front office. Will this actually work? Stay Tuned!