Mets general manager Brodie Van Wagenen has had his hands full navigating the team through a tumultuous offseason .
Spring Training officially is here, pitchers and catchers are reporting to camps. Baseball is back!
The New York Mets have had themselves a heck of an offseason. No, they didn’t sign any of the top free agents on the market. They did, however, continue to make the headlines for all the wrong reasons.
Just when you think the Mets can’t outdo themselves when it comes to leaving their fanbase in a state of confusion, they remind you who they are. It’s a reality fans of this team, much like the fanbase for the Knicks, have accepted as the normal. A very frustrating normal.
It was a tumultuous offseason for the Mets
Mickey Callaway was fired after two seasons as manager. General manager Brodie Van Wagenen said it was “in the best interest of the franchise at this time” to part ways with Callaway. One hard look at Callaway’s tenure in Queens and there’s enough logic to justify his dismissal.
The Mets finished the 2019 campaign with 86 wins, this included an impressive 46-26 record in the second half. Callaway, however, was often criticized for his in-game strategies, his communication skills with the media, and his handling of a very fragile bullpen.
Van Wagenen was confident he built a playoff-ready team in his first season on the job. But the Mets finished 11 games behind the Atlanta Braves in the National League east and three games behind the Milwaukee Brewers for the second wild card spot.
Furthermore, closer Edwin Diaz, Van Wagenen’s huge trade acquisition, blew seven saves last season under the watch of Callaway. That’s seven wins, that’s the difference between playing in the playoffs and watching at home.
The Mets thought they hit a home run by bringing Carlos Beltran back to be their next manager. I was one of many who endorsed the hiring. It felt like the right time for the right guy. But that feeling went away quicker than a New York Minute when the Mets fired Beltran after Major League Baseball connected him to the sign-stealing scandal which has shaken the sport to its core.
Callaway wasn’t Van Wagenen’s hire, he was inherited from the previous regime. Beltran, however, was totally his hire, and, once it became obvious the team couldn’t stick with him, Van Wagenen moved quickly before it became a PR nightmare for the team.
The Mets have now turned the keys to their house over to Luis Rojas
He will have plenty to oversee in his first few weeks on the job. His hiring wasn’t the sexy headline that Beltran was, and now, maybe that’s exactly what the Mets need.
What is clear in all of this is that the hiring of Rojas, while not Van Wagenen’s first choice, needs to hit on producing results quickly.
This is a team, despite all the negative press it received in the offseason, that expects to compete for the playoffs in 2020. They have a young, talented core led by National League Rookie of the Year Pete Alonso and Cy Young award winner Jacob deGrom.
Qualities of a Leader
Rojas has spent over 14 years in the Mets’ organization, he’s coached many of their players during their progression to the main roster. He knows the game; his father is former big-league manager and well-respected Felipe Alou.
“He’s respected by the players, he’s trusted by the players, and he’s someone that we have great confidence in his ability to lead our team now and his ability to put our players and put us in the best position to succeed, Van Wagenen said about Rojas.
“He’s very, very well qualified. We anticipate him to be a great addition to our team. We think he has the ability to be consistent, to be calm under pressure and to understand the opportunity that this team has as we head into the 2020 season.”
Respect. Trust. Confidence. Consistency. Poise. Awareness.
Those are the pillars of what makes for a good leader. It’s what separates the successful one from the one and done. Van Wagenen was hoping he had that when he inherited Mickey Callaway and hired Carlos Beltran. It’s what he hopes to have found in Luis Rojas.
Van Wagenen has spent most of his first 16 months on the job trying to make moves “in the best interest of the franchise”. He’s already on his third manager under his watch. While, at only 45 years old, he’s been in the business of sports long enough to know that every move he makes right now for the Mets is being closely watched and rightfully so.
It was a heck of an offseason, once again, for the Mets. Now it’s time for baseball.
