Mets: Has Brodie Van Wagenen changed your opinion of him?

New York Mets General Manager Brodie Van Wagenen has done a lot in three months at the helm. With one offseason almost down, has he changed your opinion of him?

On October 29th, when the New York Mets announced the hiring of their new general manager, Brodie Van Wagenen, many fans were skeptical and left scratching their heads. A longtime sports agent with no prior front-office experience suddenly handed all the keys to the Mets franchise? Baffling to many, intelligent to some.

Since Van Wagenen took the helm on October 29th, he has brought in a total of 21 players from outside of the organization. Headlining those players are: Robinson Cano, Edwin Diaz, Jeurys Familia, Wilson Ramos, and Jed Lowrie. All are former all-stars and solid, consistent baseball players to build a contending team around.

One thing Van Wagenen has repeatedly said is that he wanted to eliminate the “ifs” that the front office has in the past resorted to. He doesn’t want to make it so that if* player x and player y don’t get injured and play well, then the team will have a shot at making the playoffs.

Van Wagenen has certainly held true to this promise. For many seasons the Mets roster lacked depth. Heading into 2019, though, it looks to be a different story.

At Lowrie’s press conference this week, Van Wagenen said this about the Mets’ upcoming season:

Not only has he brought in some very solid baseball players, but he also has brought in some intelligent personnel – another thing Mets fans haven’t seen in their front office. Allard Baird, now vice president and assistant GM of scouting and player development, is a well-respected baseball executive and played a major role in crafting the Boston Red Sox ballclub that has won the world series three times in his presence.

Another big hire was Jared Banner, who is now the director of the farm system for the Mets. Banner is another former Red Sox executive who was pried away by Van Wagenen to come south to New York. Banner took on a variety of front office roles with the Red Sox before serving as VP of player personnel, overseeing the scouting in international leagues.

Constantly working to improve himself and those around him, the 32-year-old Banner was viewed as a potential future GM.

Brodie Van Wagenen is making moves and all Mets fans should like it. If all else fails, at least we have some new faces in and around the organization. Myself included was very skeptical of the Van Wagenen hire, but the creativity and perseverance Van Wagenen has brought to the table in just three months are astounding.

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Hats off to Mr. Van Wagenen.