Chaim Bloom is the best Mets general manager candidate

General manager candidate Chaim Bloom would give the New York Mets a different direction and refresh the franchise.

This week, news broke that the New York Mets narrowed their general manager search down to three candidates. Among those three is the 35-year-old Chaim Bloom, who if hired would present a strong chance of change finally coming to this organization.

Bloom a Yale graduate spent years with the Tampa Bay Rays front office. He has had numerous roles with the organization as he organized player development and developed Tampa’s baseball and analytic department. As the baseball world continues to head in that analytic direction the Mets cannot afford to keep lagging behind.

Although he is technically part of a three-man leadership group in Tampa, Bloom has had the responsibilities of a general manager. Tampa Bay had a wild 2018, to say the least as they were able to obtain 90 wins this year. 90 wins for a team that looked like a non-contender on paper heading into the year is really impressive; especially when you factor in they traded away one of their best pitchers in Chris Archer.

More from Rising Apple

• NY Mets News: Marcus Stroman sees “potential fit” with the Angels
• NY Mets were too “seek” and not enough “destroy” last winter
• NY Mets: 1 trade target to consider from each 100-loss team
• NY Mets: Top 12 free agents the team should look to sign this winter
• NY Mets: Jeff Wilpon’s legacy continues to plague the Amazins

Tampa Bay definitely overachieved this year and the only reason they did not make the playoffs was that of a very competitive American League East. In terms of his success in player development, Tampa Bay had three prospects in the Top 30 Players to Watch this year. That’s tied for the second most with Cincinnati Reds and the Chicago White Sox, only the San Diego Padres had more (4).

Out of the three candidates, Bloom offers the best sample of success due to his time in Tampa Bay. Compared to his opposition the track record does not match up well for them. Doug Melvin would not be a terrible choice, he did have some success with the Milwaukee Brewers. But Melvin was replaced in favor of David Stearns, a younger and more analytic savvy option, and after some time Milwaukee is back at the top of the National League.

Although Melvin is still involved with Milwaukee’s operations and has taken time to understand the usage of analytics, one cannot ignore that he was replaced for a better option. On Thursday night he was reportedly eliminated from contention, increasing Bloom’s odds.

As for the third candidate, sports agent, Brodie Van Wagenen is an unknown commodity. What exactly can we expect from a sports agent in a GM role?

That’s just it; we just don’t know. We shouldn’t assume that it cannot work, as crazier things have happened in baseball but the Mets are not in a position to be the lab rats to see if this kind of relationship can work. Also, with the Mets having quite a few Van Wagenen clients already on their team, we might not want to find out what drama that could provide.

The Mets are in a tough spot heading into 2019. They have a team that is capable of winning games and being competitive but they also have some holes that need to be filled. However, you can also question the Mets long-term potential of being a contender. Is this team built to hang with young stacked teams like the Atlanta Braves, Philadelphia Phillies and possibly the Washington Nationals?

New York needs a GM who is going to come in and not just make the changes the current team needs but also someone who will evaluate the entire system, someone who can also take care of the future while operating the present. The Mets first prospect on 2018 top 100 did not appear until #55 (Andres Gimenez).

Want your voice heard? Join the Rising Apple team!

Write for us!

Bloom presents a refreshing change of the Mets old ways and needs to be the GM in 2019.