The two biggest hires made by the New York Mets over the past two years brought us manager Mickey Callaway and general manager Brodie Van Wagenen to Willet’s Point. Both, you could say, were “outside the box” hires.
Callaway had never managed before but drew plenty of praise for his time as the pitching coach for the Cleveland Indians. How hard could transitioning into a managerial role possibly be?
Van Wagenen was a little more unexpected. The former agent went from criticizing the front office in mid-2018 for not signing client Jacob deGrom to a long-term deal (suggesting they trade him otherwise) to running the organization from the general manager’s chair.