New York Mets: Brodie Van Wagenen Makes First Big Moves As GM

New GM of the New York Mets, Brodie Van Wagenen, made a number of big moves on Monday as the club shook up their coaching staff.

On Monday, the New York Mets announced a handful of changes to their big league coaching staff. The club announced that they would not be retaining Pat Roessler as the team’s hitting coach, and bullpen coach, Ricky Bones, would be reassigned within the organization.

The Amazins’ are expected to keep Tom Slater as their assistant hitting coach, while the future of Ruben Amaro Jr. (1st Base Coach) and Gary Disarcina (Bench Coach) is still to be decided.

According to Metsblog.com, following last week’s introductory press conference, Van Wagenen told Mike Francesa of WFAN that the club was in the process of evaluating their coaching staff.

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With these announcements, the Mets’ new hire has seemed to dive head first into his General Manager duties. These announcements come as Van Wagenen’s first big moves as General Manager of the New York Mets.

I am a fan of the shakeup as I believe that success is built from the bottom up. Van Wagenen is trying to change the culture of the New York Mets and installing new coaches is a great way to accomplish this goal.

Pat Roessler was the club’s assistant hitting coach from 2015-2017, before replacing Kevin Long as hitting coach in 2018. Under Roessler, the Mets ranked 15th in the National League in batting average, 11th in on-base percentage and 12th in slugging percentage and runs scored.

Now, the lack of production is not all Roessler’s fault. The club experienced multiple injuries to their best players, but a change in philosophy could still prove to be beneficial.

These moves show that Van Wagenen is not afraid to make changes. The New York Mets have a talented roster but the organization needs to be thrust into the 21st century of Major League Baseball. Does this mean that launch angle will be coming to Queens with their new hitting coach? Maybe…

I would expect the New York Mets to soon announce the hiring of a new hitting coach, bench coach, and maybe even a new first base coach. These moves will likely be the first of many in a busy offseason for the New York Mets.