Mets Chose Brodie Van Wagenen Over Edgardo Alfonzo

Edgardo Alfonzo is the greatest second baseman in team history, and he is one of the most beloved Mets players of all-time. To this day, he’s the only Mets second baseman to win a Silver Slugger.

He was a part of the best defensive infield in Major League history. He hit a two run homer in the first inning of the play-in game. Alfonzo hit a grand slam off Bobby Chouinard in Game 1 of the 1999 NLDS.

Alfonzo hit .444/.565/.611 to lead the Mets to their first pennant since 1986. Realistically speaking, either he or Mike Piazza should’ve been the MVP of that series over Mike Hampton. On the topic of Alfonso/Piazza, Alfonzo drew a walk before Piazza’s 9/11 homer.

After retirement, he’d return to the Mets organization to first serve as a coach and then manage the Brooklyn Cyclones.

Alfonzo guided the 2019 Cyclones to their first ever outright New York-Penn League title. On that team was Brett Baty and Matthew Allan. Baty and Allan were not just two of the Mets top three draft picks, but they’re currently two of the Mets top three prospects.

You don’t entrust a manager with those players unless they’re good on the player development side. There’s more evidence Alfonzo developed players well including the positive words Pete Alonso had about him.

Alfonzo is a Mets great. He’s a winner as a player and manager. He was entrusted with the Mets top prospects, and he helped develop him.

Brodie Van Wagenen had no interest in any of that. Despite entrusting Alfonzo with Baty and Allan, Van Wagenen claimed firing Alfonzo was a player development decision to put the prospects “in the best situation.” That forced Alfonzo to respond.

Long story short, he wants to leave the Mets. He likes coaching/managing, and he wants to continue.

To recap, Van Wagenen wants aging and under-performing former clients like Robinson Cano and Jed Lowrie, but he doesn’t want Alfonzo to be a part of the Mets organization.

Nothing Alfonzo did was good enough for Van Wagenen. The winning. The player development. The attendance. None of it. In the end, Alfonzo was always going to be fired because he has the wrong agent as a player.

The Mets just let it happen. The chose Van Wagenen over Alfonzo without so much as an explanation to the fanbase. They chose a GM who severely damaged the short and long term ability to contend over someone who belongs in the Mets Hall of Fame.

In the end, they didn’t want Alfonzo anymore. They wanted Van Wagenen.