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John Ricco is like Central America. He spent a lot of time.
He has worked for three executive directors of Mets and twice acted as interim general manager. Yet he has never been promoted to full-time general manager, despite a positive attitude to hard times and a good soldier.
What a good soldier? Ricco has just served as Jeff Wilpon's co-pilot in gathering information and interviewing Sandy Alderson's successor, although he has never been considered a candidate.
Now, he must decide if he wants to work for a fourth general manager of the Mets – after Jim Duquette, Omar Minaya and Alderson – with the hiring of Brodie Van Wagenen. Ricco has a contract for 2019, but does he have a job?
"I'm going to sit down [with Van Wagenen] and see if there is a role and a solution for me, "Ricco said. "I must have a conversation, but there is no commitment yet. But I totally agree with this rental. Brodie checked a lot of boxes. It's no different than when Sandy [was hired]when I had to find out there was a space for me. What Jeff said is true: you have to give the new guy the opportunity to do it his way and we'll see what happens. "
Several outside executives felt that Van Wagenen would be well-advised to retain Ricco, in part because Ricco understands how the Mets and their owners work. Within the industry, Ricco is considered an excellent strategist for what could be complicated rules, and Van Wagenen obviously wishes to avoid even writing mistakes early in his tenure, as much more than one wrong step could, for example, lead to the loss of a player. waivers. Ricco is also considered a loyal and hardworking man – assets that may have earned him a chance to win.
"[Whether he stays] it's less intelligent to be ignored than to be changed, it's smart to look in the mirror and ask yourself, "What does that mean to me?" declared Ricco. "Being ignored has nothing to do with it. Change creates an opportunity to take stock. "
Ricco stated that he had a relationship with Van Wagenen, in part because Alderson had charged him with doing a lot of work with the agents to negotiate not only the contracts, but also to solve the problems related to customers.
Special Assistant Omar Minaya has also worked for Van Wagenen since he was Managing Director and Associate of the Players Association. But many sources indicated that Minaya's preference was that of Doug Melvin, a member of the Brewers executive, who was also a finalist for the position of General Manager. According to sources, Minaya will at least initially have significant weight in international scouting.
As for the third Acting Managing Director, with Ricco and Minaya, replaced by Alderson, J.P. Ricciardi has signed a contract for 2019, but Van Wagenen will have to determine where he has his place and where. Wilpon said it would be Van Wagenen's call on how to deploy – or not deploy – Ricco, Minaya and Ricciardi.
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