The New York Mets have reportedly settled on a front-runner to become the next general manager of the franchise, Brodie Van Wagenen.
From super agent to Major League Baseball executive. This is the career path of one Brodie Van Wagenen.
At least we believe.
According to numerous sources including Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports, Van Wagenen has emerged as the favorite for the New York Mets general manager position.
Sources: CAA agent Brodie Van Wagenen has emerged as a significant favorite for the Mets’ general manager job. One source said the job is his if he wants it. Discussions are continuing, but the sense is that he will be the next head of baseball operations for the Mets.
— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) October 26, 2018
Although it’s not official yet, it appears as though the only matter left is negotiating a deal with the soon-to-be former agent whose clients include Jacob deGrom, Noah Syndergaard, Todd Frazier, Brandon Nimmo, and others.
On Thursday, reports leaked that had Doug Melvin fall out of the race, leaving Van Wagenen and Tampa Bay Rays senior VP of baseball operations Chaim Bloom. By the time Friday afternoon came, it was clear that Fred and Jeff Wilpon were focused only on Van Wagenen.
Van Wagenen, 44, comes from Stanford. As co-head of CAA Sports’ Baseball division, the young agent was named in Forbes’ “40 under 40” in the category of “the best young talent in sports business.”
It feels as though the only thing holding Van Wagenen back from taking over is a contract. Of course, should he get the job, his days as an agent for deGrom, Syndergaard and others in baseball will immediately end.
It’ll be interesting. With a tremendous rotation in place—guys he’s extraordinarily familiar with—and a few core positional players, the time could be now for the New York Mets to strike in terms of success.
