NEW YORK (AP) ¡ª
Kyle
Freeland Jersey , they found one in a peculiar place.On the other side of
the bargaining table.Longtime baseball agent Brodie Van Wagenen is switching
roles to become GM of the Mets, the team announced Monday evening. Contract
details were not disclosed.¡°Brodie is an extremely knowledgeable, creative,
progressive and collaborative leader, who I¡¯m confident will lead us toward
sustainable success,¡± Mets chief operating officer Jeff Wilpon said in a
statement. ¡°I¡¯m very excited for our fans to hear and see the direction Brodie
outlined for us.¡±A news conference to introduce Van Wagenen was scheduled for
Tuesday afternoon at Citi Field. He was chosen by Wilpon and his father, Mets
owner Fred Wilpon, to replace Sandy Alderson, who took a leave in June following
a recurrence of cancer. Alderson said the club¡¯s poor performance did not merit
him returning.And so, at the start of a pivotal offseason, the Mets¡¯ first pitch
is a changeup.¡°I¡¯m beyond excited and motivated to take on this new challenge,¡±
Van Wagenen said. ¡°I want to thank Fred and Jeff for believing in my vision and
abilities. I look forward to beginning the progress of getting the Mets to
contend for a championship year after year.¡±The 44-year-old Van Wagenen is
swapping sides in labor relations. He has represented high-profile players all
around the majors, including current Mets stars Jacob
deGrom
Chris
Iannetta Jersey , Yoenis Cespedes and Todd Frazier. Van Wagenen also
represented Mets minor leaguer Tim Tebow, the 2007 Heisman Trophy winner and
former NFL quarterback.Van Wagenen co-founded the baseball division of CAA
Sports in 2006 and had been co-head of CAA Baseball. He emerged as New York¡¯s
top choice for general manager from a list of 10-12 initial candidates. He must
leave his clients and give up his career as an agent to take the job.With buzz
building about Van Wagenen flipping roles, players and rival agents around the
majors have expressed concern about a potential conflict of interest ¡ª though
the move is not unprecedented. Former big league pitcher Dave Stewart made the
switch from agent to front-office executive with the Arizona Diamondbacks, and a
couple of GMs in the NBA did the same.NFL executive Mike Tannenbaum, vice
president of football operations for Miami, worked as an agent between jobs with
the Jets and Dolphins.Following the Mets¡¯ second consecutive losing season, Jeff
Wilpon said he would look outside the organization for the 13th GM in franchise
history. He said he was open to ¡°untraditional candidates¡± and preferred to have
someone in place by the Nov. 5-8 general managers¡¯ meetings.¡°Brodie showed us he
is a progressive thinker, who is prepared for this role and has great baseball
acumen,¡± Fred Wilpon said. ¡°Jeff brought forward an array of candidates and we
all agreed that Brodie¡¯s high character, blend of analytics, scouting and
development ideas illustrate why he will be successful in this role.¡±Tampa Bay
Rays senior vice president of baseball operations Chaim Bloom was the other
finalist.Doug Melvin also had a second interview with ownership last week. But
the former Texas and Milwaukee general manager was told days ago he was no
longer in the running.Alderson was hired as general manager in 2010. He helped
lead New York to consecutive playoff berths in 2015 and ¡¯16, including a trip to
the 2015 World Series.Since he stepped down, baseball decisions have been made
by the trio of assistant general manager John Ricco and special assistants Omar
Minaya and J.P.
Ricciardi
http://www.rockiesfanproshop.com/authentic-ryan-mcmahon-jers ey ,
all reporting to the Wilpons.Jeff Wilpon also said he would like Ricco,
Ricciardi and Minaya to return ¡ª but that didn¡¯t guarantee they would be
retained.Van Wagenen was an agent at IMG from 2001 until joining CAA. He played
college baseball at Stanford with Houston Astros manager AJ Hinch, and the two
became good friends.A native of California, Van Wagenen and his wife, Molly,
have three children and live in Connecticut. Molly¡¯s stepfather was late
astronaut Neil Armstrong, the first man to walk on the moon. Jon Durr/Getty
ImagesThe National League needs an extra day to decide its playoff bracket as
the Central and West divisions ended in ties after the end of regular-season
play on Sunday.Here's a look at the tiebreaker schedule for Monday, in addition
to the four potential playoff brackets based off the scenarios that could unfold
Tuesday. You'll also find some analysis for each of them. NL Central
TiebreakerMatchup: Milwaukee Brewers at Chicago CubsDay, Time and TV: Monday,
1:09 p.m. ET on ESPNProbables:TBD (for Milwaukee) vs. Chicago Cubs LHP Jose
Quintana NL West TiebreakerMatchup:Colorado Rockies at Los Angeles DodgersDay,
Time and TV:Monday, 4:09 p.m. ET on ESPNProbables:Colorado Rockies RHP German
Marquez vs. Los Angeles Dodgers RHP Walker Buehler If Brewers and Rockies WinNL
Wild Card Game:Dodgers at Cubs,
Tuesday
http://www.tigersfanproshop.com/authentic-joe-jimenez-jersey ,
8 p.m. ET, ESPNNLDS:No. 1 Brewers vs.No. 4 Cubs or No. 5 DodgersNLDS:No. 2
Rockies vs.No. 3 BravesThis would be something. The two teams many thought would
be fighting for the National League pennant end up playing a one-game playoff
just to decide who the National League's No. 4 seed will be.The Chicago Cubs may
have the advantage in that game: They have the National League's best home
record at 51-30 and won't have to face Los Angeles Dodgers ace Clayton Kershaw,
who already pitched Saturday and is in line to start Game 1 of the NLDS should
his team get that far.Meanwhile, the upstart Milwaukee Brewers and Colorado
Rockies would be in the driver's seats for NLCS berths by virtue of winning the
tiebreaker games. The Atlanta Braves can sit still knowing that they are the No.
3 seed, although they won't know whether they are heading for Colorado or L.A
until Monday.If Brewers and Dodgers WinNL Wild Card Game:Rockies at
Cubs,Tuesday, 8 p.m. ET, ESPNNLDS:No. 1 Brewers vs.No. 4 Cubs or No. 5
RockiesNLDS: No. 2 Dodgers vs.No. 3 BravesThe Dodgers look like a significant
mismatch for the Braves on paper. In addition to the home-field edge, the
Dodgers would hold advantages over the Braves throughout the batting lineup and
pitching staff. It also helps that L.A. has a good amount of postseason
experience this decade, while the Braves are an up-and-coming team tasting
postseason success for the first time.Meanwhile, a Brewers-Cubs or
Brewers-Rockies matchup could be a lot of fun. All three teams can mash, which
may lead to a high-scoring series athitter's parks, where home runs fly more
than average.The Brewers-Cubs battle could also be noteworthy because two strong
MVP candidates (Cubs infielder Javier Baez and Brewers outfielder Christian
Yelich) will be going head-to-head. The MVP is solely based on regular-season
play
Miguel
Cabrera Jersey , but it would be interesting to see what those two do for
encores after fantastic 2018 seasons. If Cubs and Rockies WinNL Wild Card
Game:Dodgers at Brewers,Tuesday, 8 p.m. ET, ESPNNLDS:No. 1 Cubs vs. No. 4
Brewers or No. 5 DodgersNLDS:No. 2 Rockies vs.No. 3 BravesMuch like 2016, the
Cubs would be in the National League playoff driver's seat with home-field
advantage throughout the playoffs. Wrigley Field becomes a tightly packed zoo
during the postseason, creating arguably the wildest October atmosphere in the
bigs.It's not impossible for teams to win there, as the Cubs did lose three home
playoff games en route to their 2016 World Series championship. But the Cubs may
have a more significant home-field advantage than any other NL team, and that's
a strong edge as Chicago looks for its second NL pennant in three years.The
Colorado Rockies would enjoy being the No. 2 seed, as they would have home-field
advantage in the NLDS and the same in the NLCS if the Cubs lose to the Brewers
or Dodgers in this scenario.Coors Field is one of the game's most notorious
hitter's parks, and numerous Rockies power hitters (e.g. David Dahl, Charlie
Blackmon, Nolan Arenado, Trevor
Story
Alan
Trammell Jersey , Carlos Gonzalez) can take advantage. It wouldn't be a
surprise to see Colorado simply slug its way to the pennant.If Cubs and Dodgers
WinNL Wild Card Game: Rockies at Brewers,Tuesday, 8 p.m. ET, ESPNNLDS:No. 1 Cubs
vs. No. 4Brewers or No. 5 RockiesNLDS:No. 2 Dodgers vs.No. 3 BravesThis scenario
puts the presumptive NL favorites in the top two seeds. They met in the NLCS
each of the past two years, with the Cubs winning 4-2 in 2016 and the Dodgers
taking the series in five in 2017.A rubber match between the two teams would be
a little different this time. For one, the Dodgers added shortstop Manny
Machado, second baseman Brian Dozier and infielder Max Muncy, who combined for
92 home runs this year. Machado and Dozier came over in midseason trades, while
Muncy was a pleasant surprise after spending his 2017 season in the minors.The
Cubs now have southpaw Cole Hamels, and Baez has developed into one of the
game's best players. Chicago also has Daniel Murphy, one of the best pure
hitters in the game when he's on.