Brodie Van Wagenen is in only his second season as the general manager of the New York Mets, and it is fair to wonder if it will be his last.
Steve Cohen, who recently purchased the New York Mets but still needs approval from Major League Baseball to take over, announced on Thursday that he is planning to bring back former Mets GM Sandy Alderson to serve as team president.
“If I am fortunate enough to be approved by Major League Baseball as the next owner of this iconic franchise, Sandy Alderson will become president of the New York Mets and will oversee all Mets baseball and business operations,” Cohen said in a statement “Sandy is an accomplished and respected baseball executive who shares my philosophy of building an organization and a team the right way. I am excited to have Sandy in a key leadership role with the Mets if my purchase of the team is approved. Lets’ Go Mets!”
Cohen has been a limited partner with the Mets for eight years now, so he is familiar with Alderson. Alderson was the GM of the Mets from 2010 until he stepped down in 2018 because of a recurrence of cancer. He has since taken a job as a senior advisor with the Oakland A’s.
As Joel Sherman of the New York Post notes, Cohen’s decision to bring back Alderson may have some business strategy behind it. Alderson is well respected across baseball, as he has worked in front office roles since the early 1980s. His association with the Mets could help assure that Cohen gets the votes he needs to complete the purchase of the franchise.
From a baseball standpoint, Alderson’s return could spell bad news for Van Wagenen. The former agent has traded a number of top prospects in an attempt to improve the major league roster, but that has not paid off. The Mets missed the playoffs last year and are on their way to meeting the same fate this season. Van Wagenen was also involved in an embarrassing controversy recently.
Alderson built New York’s 2015 NL championship team, and Sherman notes that his relationship with Van Wagenen is not all that strong. The two are familiar with one another from when Van Wagenen was an agent, but that’s really the only tie.
Assuming Cohen’s sale goes through and Alderson takes over baseball operations, it seems unlikely that Van Wagenen is going to keep his job.
