What are the New York Mets doing?

With the hiring of Brodie Van Wagenen as their new general manager is it fair to ask just what are the New York Mets doing?

The New York Mets hired a former agent to be their new general manager. Brodie Van Wagenen has no experience working in a front office and is now the general manager of a Major League Baseball team. Hiring Van Wagenen has to be one of the most Mets things ever.

On one hand the Mets needed to replace Sandy Alderson as their general manager. Alderson took a leave of absence and left a vacancy in the Mets front office. Many candidates for the job essentially refused to take it due to Alderson still technically being the general manager. There was too much respect to kick out a respected colleague of a position he still technically had. On the other hand it would have been better to at least find someone with experience working in a front office. Van Wagenen has none and has only worked getting money for players, not handing money out to players.

On a positive note Van Wagenen has experience in getting teams to spend money on players. The New York Mets are not exactly spend happy. To put it nicely they are notoriously thrifty and Van Wagenen may be able to use his experience to get the Mets to spend more money. Money to retain current players and acquire new players. Whether through free agency or via trade.

Van Wagenen has a tough task ahead of him and most expect it to fail miserably. A team as mismanaged as the Mets needs all the help it can get. Maybe a non-traditional move such as hiring Van Wagenen as their general manager works. Countering mismanagement with a non-traditional hire could work, but it could actually make things worse.