Mets GM Brodie Van Wagenen needs to watch what he says
Mets general manager Brodie Van Wagenen speaks to reporters during the GM meetings Wednesday in Carlsbad, Calif. Credit: AP/Gregory Bull
CARLSBAD, Calif. — During his first 24 hours at the GM Meetings, as the new Mets’ shot-caller, Brodie Van Wagenen suggested that Tim Tebow could be on the Opening Day roster and also didn’t rule out the possibility oof trading either Jacob deGrom or Noah Syndergaard.
That got us thinking. Does anybody still have Chaim Bloom’s cell number?
But when granted the opportunity Wednesday to clarify those statements, or better yet, flush them altogether, Van Wagenen came to his senses. Or more accurately, had someone nearby point out the error of his ways.
This is the part of GM-ing that Van Wagenen needs to study up on. From the jump, we tentatively got on board with the outside-the-box hiring of a former agent to head the Mets’ front office. It’s a gamble, sure. But Van Wagenen’s experience on the business-side of the sport, along with his chummy relationship with COO Jeff Wilpon, was worth a try.
What Van Wagenen has to understand, however, is that he’s now in charge of crafting the message for the organization, and it would be a smart idea to stay consistent with those talking points. The Mets have finished over .500 twice in the past decade, the fan base is frustrated going on furious and every step this new regime takes is going to be scrutinized very closely.
So Van Wagenen can’t tell us a week ago at his introductory news conference that the Mets “will win now” and then create a scenario where Tebow -- his former CAA client, by the way -- is one of the 25 best players in the organization come March 28. It can’t happen.
Sandy Alderson, whenever he got into one of his mischievous moods, liked to tweak everyone on the Tebow experiment, and we mostly played along. Like him or not, Tebow has sold a ton of tickets in the minors, and as Alderson always said, this is the entertainment business, after all.
Tebow will continue to be a draw at Triple-A Syracuse, and Van Wagenen made sure Wednesday to say that’s where he’s scheduled to begin the season. With some more time to reflect, Opening Day was left out of the discussion.
“He’s a guy that’s fueled by challenges,” said Van Wagenen, who added that maybe Tebow could make an impact in the big leagues. But it’s better to leave that timetable vague for now, and turn all of the GM’s attention toward molding the Mets into a contender, or at minimum a franchise that can be competitive for all six months of the regular season.
To do so, Van Wagenen is going to need deGrom, and most likely Syndergaard, so keeping them off the block is pretty much a requirement for now. That’s not to say the new GM can’t change his mind down the line in his efforts to retool the Mets -- “rebuild” remains a dirty word in Flushing -- but we can’t see how the Mets become a winning franchise again in 2019 without them.
Back at the All-Star break, it was Van Wagenen -- the CAA agent -- who said the Mets had to either sign deGrom long-term or trade him, because otherwise they were wasting his Cy Young talent in another lost season with perhaps more to come. But if Van Wagenen -- the GM -- has every intention of making the Mets an NL East power, he needs to recognize the roles both deGrom and Syndergaard have to play in that revival.
It eventually dawned on him Wednesday, with Van Wagenen admitting that both pitchers are “important pieces” atop the rest of a strong rotation. Not quite the same as saying he’d like them to both retire as Mets, but it’s an upgrade from the previous days’s statement of “not ruling out” moving those elite-level arms.
“I love our starting pitching,” Van Wagenen said. “I love our rotation right now. I have no plans to announce a trade at the GM Meetings of Jacob or Noah.”
OK, so that last part came off as a bit smarmy. But Van Wagenen has to realize he has a greater audience now, and that audience needs to be persuaded to buy tickets, which only happens if he significantly improves this team. It might help if that process gets underway as soon as possible, and Van Wagenen’s Type A profile seems well-suited for the job.
“I think my personality is to go-go-go,” Van Wagenen said.
As long as that energy is funneled into making intelligent baseball decisions, we’ll consider it a positive. Those actions will speak much louder than words anyway.
David Lennon is an award-winning columnist, a voter for baseball's Hall of Fame and has covered six no-hitters, including two perfect games.
