Wayne Randazzo will join Howie Rose in the New York Mets radio booth for the 2019 season to be the color commentator.
Howie Rose will have a new partner in the New York Mets radio booth this season. Wayne Randazzo will join Rose in the booth, where he will serve as the color commentator for listeners of WCBS, according to Andrew Marchand of the New York Post.
However, Randazzo, who has occasionally filled in for Gary Cohen on SNY, will have a short leash. He is only getting a one-year contract. Howie Rose has worked radio broadcasts for the team since 2004 and he worked TV broadcasts from 1995-2003.
The spot for Randazzo was opened up after Josh Lewin mercifully returned to California, as he had worked with Rose since 2012. Randazzo and Rose will also work occasionally with other announcers, who will be brought in on auditions when one of them has the day off.
Randazzo will be taking over his role after an interesting season. The team added Edwin Diaz, signed Wilson Ramos, and brought back Jeurys Familia. The Mets are hoping that these additions, as well as full seasons of Peter Alonso and Jeff McNeil, will help them compete in 2019.
Randazzo, who has worked on the pregame and postgame shows for the team, will see some familiar faces on the team. Jacob deGrom will be looking to repeat his magical Cy Young winning season, while Michael Conforto will look to build on his strong second half and lead a lineup that has struggled to stay healthy in recent years.
Ed Coleman will be returning to pregame and postgame duty. Coleman had performed in the same role when the team was on WFAN, but he did not follow the team to WOR. However, with the team now on WCBS, he can once again work the broadcasts, as WCBS and WFAN are owned by the same parent company.
If all goes according to plan, Randazzo will have plenty of meaningful baseball games to call in his first full season as an announcer. The Mets are extending their experimentation into the booth, as well as on the field.
