Mets to hire Sandy Alderson to run baseball operations, prospective owner Steve Cohen says

The New York Mets are in the process of being sold and once that sale becomes official, expect an old friend to take over baseball operations at Citi Field. There’s an agreement for the Wilpon family to sell the team to Steve Cohen. The deal is awaiting approval of the Major League Baseball owners and will surely happen pretty quickly after the World Series. 

When the deal does go through, Cohen has already decided who he wants to run baseball operations and it’s a familiar face. Cohen’s statement, via the New York Post: 

“If I am fortunate enough to be approved by Major League Baseball as the next owner of this iconic franchise, Sandy Alderson will become president of the New York Mets and will oversee all Mets baseball and business operations. Sandy is an accomplished and respected baseball executive who shares my philosophy of building an organization and a team the right way. I am excited to have Sandy in a key leadership role with the Mets if my purchase of the team is approved.”

Alderson, 72, has quite the accomplished career in baseball front offices. He took over as club president of the Athletics in 1981 and held the post through 1997. Under him, the A’s won four division titles, three pennants and one World Series title. He was then CEO of the Padres from 2005-09, with the Padres winning the NL West in 2005 and 2006. Alderson then took over the Mets in 2010, building the team that won the 2015 NL pennant and also made the 2016 wild card game. 

With how much the Mets have disappointed this season, the easy conclusion is that Cohen is already firing general manager Brodie Van Wagenen in order to bring in his own people. Van Wagenen might very well be shown the door, but hiring Alderson as club president doesn’t necessarily mean that happens. It’s entirely possible Alderson retains Van Wagenen and tries to work with him. Of course, it’s also possible Alderson hires a new GM and, relatively-speaking, starts over.