Bob Ojeda not returning to SNY

Bob Ojeda, whose contract with SNY expired after last season, will not be returning this season.

Ojeda, who pitched for the Mets from 1986 to 1990 and later coached in their minor league system, joined SNY in 2009 as a pregame and postgame contributor.

Bob Raissman, who broke the story for the Daily News, cited a source close to Ojeda who said he “absolutely” wanted to return. According to Raissman, the two sides were far apart on terms for a new contract, necessitating the move.

According to Raissman, the frontrunner to replace Ojeda is Nelson Figueroa, who pitched for the Mets in 2008 and 2009.

Ojeda is the second major name to depart SNY in the last few months.

After the season ended, in-game reporter Kevin Burkhardt left the network to join Fox Sports to become a play-by-play man for their NFL telecasts and a host for a number of the network’s studio shows.

Thoughts:

This is disappointing.

While I didn’t always agree with what Ojeda had to say, he was someone who always told it like it is while refusing to hold back. His presence will absolutely be missed.

After Ojeda was passed over as Mets pitching coach about a decade ago, he had some critical things to say about the organization. Still, the Mets gave him a job on their network, and there’s no reason to think this had to do with anything but a failure of the two sides to agree on a new deal.

While Ojeda was often critical of the Mets while appearing on SNY, Keith Hernandez is the same way – and what Hernandez says about the Mets reaches a much larger audience than what Ojeda used to say.

As far as Nelson Figueroa potentially replacing Ojeda, there isn’t much to say. Aside from a few appearances on the MLB Network, I haven’t seen Figueroa in the role of commentator. Hopefully he brings a fresh, interesting take if he gets the gig with SNY.