The Yankees made another key front office addition, with Omar Minaya now joining as a special advisor. The YES Network’s Jack Curry reported the hire along with the former Mets general manager’s expected duties.
Breaking: Omar Minaya, the former GM of the Mets and the Expos, is joining the Yankees as an advisor to the baseball ops department. Savvy hire by the Yankees. Minaya brings smarts and experience. Along with the Sabean hiring, he’s the second high-profile add Yankees have made.
— Jack Curry (@JackCurryYES) January 5, 2023
Both Minaya and Sabean are known for their scouting and talent evaluation abilities. Both executives will now be added to the other voices in the Yankees’ decision room. Important to mix analytics info and scouting info.
— Jack Curry (@JackCurryYES) January 5, 2023
Like Brian Sabean, who we’ve recently discussed, Minaya brings decades’ worth of experience to the table. He served in the Mets’ front office on three different occasions, including once as their general manager from 2004-2010. His tenure saw the Mets go from lovable losers to a team to watch.
Minaya’s peak success in New York was the 2006 season, when the Mets won the NL East and got to Game 7 of the NLCS. Minaya’s team also drafted both Jacob deGrom and Matt Harvey. It’s almost enough to make one forget the horrific Jason Bay signing, or how badly Minaya botched firing Willie Randolph in 2008.
But despite all the drama, Minaya has always been someone who’s overall objectively good at his job. Sure, the Mets mostly underachieved during his tenure, but hardly to the point of being a circus. Like him or not, he’s always had an eye for talent.
This is where Curry hit the nail on the head: scouting and analytics working together is vitally important. We all know how much Brian Cashman loves analytics, often at the expense of the simple eye test. Both Sabean and Minaya may understand analytics, but not to the point of relying solely on them.
If anything, they’ll push back on the numbers when they think they see a sure thing. Remember, Sabean scouted Derek Jeter, Mariano Rivera, and the rest of the Core Four before winning three rings in San Francisco.
Minaya’s resume doesn’t sparkle like Sabean’s, but he still knows his stuff. Be it international scouting or helping build trades, he’s just the latest sign of the Yankees showing they’re serious about 2023.
Follow ESNY on Twitter @elitesportsny
