Mickey Callaway has ‘support’ of the Mets’ new GM

The Mets’ new general manager is intent on keeping the old manager.

Mickey Callaway will meet with new GM Brodie Van Wagenen this week, at which time he will be told he’s still the Mets’ field boss.

“I fully support him,” Van Wagenen said Tuesday at his introductory press conference at Citi Field. “One of the themes I have discussed so far today and will be a calling card of this new regime is a culture of positivity. [Callaway] has enthusiasm, he has energy and I want to embrace that to inspire players.”

Callaway arrived last October on a three-year contract and guided the Mets to a 77-85 record in his rookie season. On the final day of the regular season, the former Indians pitching coach received a vote of confidence from team COO Jeff Wilpon, who said he hoped the new GM would retain Callaway.

Van Wagenen said he’s had “good communication” with Callaway in recent days.

Jeff Wilpon provided a vague reassurance that Van Wagenen will be allowed to spend this offseason. The Mets began last season with a payroll in the $155 million neighborhood. As it stands, the team has about $140 million committed toward 2019 salaries, including projected raises for arbitration-eligible players.

“We’ve talked about the spending and where we are now and what we have coming off the books and coming on through arbitration,” Wilpon said. “[Van Wagenen] is totally comfortable with where we are going to be. We haven’t talked about a specific number yet — as you know we don’t usually — but he knows he has got latitude to make moves and be aggressive.”

Among those Van Wagenen thanked was former Mets GM Sandy Alderson, who did not attend Tuesday’s press conference. Van Wagenen developed a relationship with Alderson in recent years from negotiating contracts for players such as Yoenis Cespedes and Todd Frazier, but was also well aware of the former Oakland GM as a student at Stanford in the 1990s.

“[Alderson] was revered on my college campus and he was a role model to many people like me who had ambitions to work in professional sports,” Van Wagenen said. “It’s humbling as I try to follow in his footsteps.

“Sandy and I had the fortune to work on many different transactions over the years and I learned lessons from each one of those. Sandy, if you are listening, I hope to lean on you a lot as we go forward in this new chapter.”