Boldness and creativity were on the agenda for the Mets the last time the Winter Meetings came to Las Vegas, in 2008, when team officials were movers and shakers, adding stud free-agent closer Francisco Rodriguez and participating in a three-team trade with the Mariners and Indians that netted reliever J.J. Putz, among others.
A decade later, baseball’s winter festival is returning to the city, with Mets general manager Brodie Van Wagenen maybe ready to play the role of Omar Minaya — now a special assistant within the organization — and orchestrate the kind of moves over the next four days at Mandalay Bay that can generate buzz for the franchise and put this dormant team in position to win next season.