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Brodie Van Wagenen wants to start winning immediately.
Presented as the 13th General Manager of Mets History at a Citi Field News Conference, the former CAA Baseball Division Agent and Co-Director was not about to say the word "rebuilding" in the valuation of the franchise for which he had been rehired.
"We will win now, we will win in the future," said Van Wagenen. "We want to develop a winning culture and a winning state of mind and we will give this city and fan base a team they can be proud of."
44-year-old Van Wagenen, who was awarded a four-year contract, was among the 40 or more candidates selected for the position that opened in June when Sandy Alderson stepped down to fight recurrence of cancer, according to the director of the team, Jeff Wilpon. .
Van Wagenen, who until this week represented Jacob deGrom, Yoenis Cespedes and Todd Frazier among the other players on the Mets list, has a long-standing relationship with Wilpon and was first consulted for advice when looking for GM. But as the process accelerated in early October, Wilpon said he asked Van Wagenen to consider taking a stand for himself.
Van Wagenen was initially hesitant, wanting to protect his reputation with his clients, but finally had a breakfast with Wilpon, for which the subject was revisited. Van Wagenen has emerged from a list of finalists including Brewers Senior Advisor Doug Melvin and Rays Senior Vice President Baseball Operations Chaim Bloom.
In Van Wagenen, Jeff Wilpon and team owner Fred Wilpon see an "off the beaten track" hiring to bring the team back to the playoffs after two consecutive losing seasons.
"It will inspire a bit of excitement, bring a different look to traditional GMs, and have the full support of the property," said Wilpon. "He will bring a lasting winner. We are really stimulated by that. I think it's going to be a lot of fun for years to come. I know I have not seen my father so excited about a hiring we have been hiring for a long time. "
A graduate of Stanford, Mr. Van Wagenen will be responsible for strengthening a Mets agricultural production system that has fallen behind in recent years, in addition to an alignment of major league players at a price of $ 155 million last season. In addition, according to Van Wagenen, the analysis and development of the players / Scouts will be used to carry out this mission.
"I think part of my job as an agent has been to make sure that I have to touch each of these different categories," said Van Wagenen. "First of all, I buy talent. It's a different capacity, but I acquire talents, then I have to develop them and make sure that they reach the big leagues and, once they reach them, allow them to have a long career and sustainable.
"To do this, we must develop, screen and analyze in order to compensate them equitably for the contributions paid. From this point of view, I'm looking forward to working with the analysis team here and building it, and I think we need to make sure that the management in the game is strengthened and that we know how to value the assets, also well in the major leagues than minor. leagues. "
Core groups include a rotation led by DeGrom, Zack Wheeler and Noah Syndergaard and a training consisting of Michael Conforto and Brandon Nimmo. Cespedes should miss at least the first two months of next season to get surgery and eliminate the calcifications of both heels.
Van Wagenen stressed the need for the Mets to improve in the corridors and up, as they will compete in 2019.
"I do not think I tried to sell [the Wilpons] on what they wanted to hear, "said Van Wagenen. "I sold them to what I felt I had to hear"
It is also clear that Jeff and Fred Wilpon will remain active participants in charting the course of the organization, but Van Wagenen has insisted he maintain full autonomy in baseball decisions.
"I certainly hope that there is a collaborative approach," said Van Wagenen. "Every good organization I've worked for has a culture of collaboration, and that's a culture I appreciate. I talked to Fred and Jeff when we were doing this process and I want them to be involved. And the truth is that if they are not, it's a bad property. "
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