The New York Mets have rehired Chad MacDonald, the former scouting director who ran the 2011 draft for the organization.
According to Andy Martino of SNY, the New York Mets have rehired former Scouting Director Chad MacDonald.
Two interesting hires for Mets, per sources:
Former scouting director Chad MacDonald is back as a pro scout. MacDonald ran 1 draft, in 2011, and personally chose Brandon Nimmo.
Also, the team has hired 9-year MLB veteran (including Yankees) Reid Brignac to manage Kingsport.
— Andy Martino (@martinonyc) January 8, 2020
Chad MacDonald originally came to the Mets prior to the 2011 season. He had previously been the assistant scouting director with the Arizona Diamondbacks. Sandy Alderson hired him not long after he was named general manager.
MacDonald ran the 2011 MLB First-Year Player Draft for the Mets. It would be the only draft he ran for the team. After the season finished, MacDonald was hired as an assistant GM by the San Diego Padres. He was considered a rising star in MLB rapidly climbing the executive ladder.
His rapid ascent ended in 2014 when the Padres cleaned house. A.J. Preller was named the general manager and MacDonald left the organization. He quickly latched in with the Atlanta Braves picked as a special assistant to the GM. That’s a major step down from where he was.
The 2011 draft that MacDonald ran for the Mets ended up being the only one he’s run in his career. During his time with the Padres, MacDonald was tasked with overall player development rather than focusing on amateur scouting.
In that lone draft, MacDonald drafted Brandon Nimmo, Michael Fulmer, Robert Gsellman, John Gant, Jharel Cotton and Seth Lugo. That’s six MLB contributing players in one draft. That’s an incredibly high number. Not to mention that he had another 10 in the draft who reached the majors.
It’s safe to say that the 2011 draft is one of the best the Mets had in a long time. His scouting department in San Diego drafted Max Fried, Zach Eflin, Walker Lockett, Mallex Smith, Hunter Renfroe and Trea Turner. He also oversaw the signing of IFA Emmanuel Clase.
During his time with the Braves, the team drafted Mike Soroka, Austin Riley, Ian Anderson, Kyle Muller, Bryse Wilson and Kyle Wright, all of whom are either major league contributors or elite prospects.
MacDonald coming back is a huge boon for the New York Mets. They are desperate for help in their scouting department, especially after losing Jon Updike earlier in the offseason.
