The New York Mets are coming close to a decision and it all comes down to Chaim Bloom and Brodie Van Wagenen.
The New York Mets are ready to turn the page on the disastrous 2018 season. The team severely underperformed and manager Terry Callaway did little to help his case as the long-term answer at manager for the Mets. Furthermore, Sandy Alderson stepped down after being diagnosed with cancer.
But the team is close to finding Alderson’s replacement and according to Jon Heyman of Fancred, the Metropolitans have narrowed their search down to Brodie Van Wagenen and Chaim Bloom. This means that Doug Melvin is out of the running despite bringing the most experience to the table.
Van Wagenen is an agent for CAA and he reps a number of Mets including Jacob deGrom and Noah Syndergaard. He would seem to have an angle for the job due to his familiarity with the players, but his lack of experience in a front office role could be concerning. That being said, once upon a time, the Golden State Warriors hired the powerful basketball agent, Bob Myers and they’ve done quite well since.
Chaim Bloom is the younger, trendier pick for general manager. The word “trendier” isn’t meant to be an insult — far from it. Bloom is currently the senior vice president of baseball operations for the Tampa Bay Rays. This season, Tampa brought bullpenning into the mainstream — much to Brian Kenny’s delight. The Rays began using relievers to start games — commonly referred to as an “opener” — before bringing in another reliever to try and soldier through three to five innings.
There are definite pros and cons to either candidate. Now all Mets fans can do is hope that whoever gets pegged as the general manager can bring some stability to the franchise.
