The Mets are still suffering from some of Brodie Van Wagenen’s choices.
There’s a sting that comes when New York Mets supporters see the name Brodie Van Wagenen. Different people experience pain at different levels. After a nap, some people feel as though a bright light was shining on them a bit too intensely. Some will claim that seeing the initials BVW makes them feel as though battery acid is washing over their retinas.
Whichever side you’re on, on Monday you undoubtedly gave him some thought.
Van Wagenen was hired by the Mets for three complete seasons prior to this. Though some of his choices, some of which were unavoidably made, have aged poorly, many others have really performed better than expected. In order to assign a numerical value to each player for the amount of blame they should bear, let’s examine the players who are still haunting the Mets.
1) Letting Zack Wheeler walk in free agency
The decision made by BVW and inspiration to allow Zack Wheeler to depart following the 2019 season is blatantly wrong. The veteran pitcher for the Mets had injuries in 2015 and 2016, which prevented him from playing at all. Despite a terrible 2017 season in which even Jacob deGrom appeared human, he showed a ton of promise when he finally returned to the mound in good health in 2018.
Wheeler had a 3.31 ERA and a record of 12-7 in 2018. The following year, he had an 11-8 record and 3.96 ERA. Sometimes the talent was greater than the outcome. The Mets didn’t think they had enough when it came to deciding on his future to even try to re-sign him.
The Philadelphia Phillies had a different opinion of him. They were rewarded with an ace in the form of a five-year, $118 million deal. Wheeler has now assisted the Phillies in making it to both the NLCS and the World Series in consecutive seasons. The elite Mets made this error, which is primarily due to BVW’s apparent extra effort to convince everyone that Wheeler wasn’t as good as his contract stated. Wheeler was the runner-up for the Cy Young award in 2021.
With Wheeler getting a three-year deal worth $126 million this week to stay with Philly, Van Wagenen’s infamous quote returned.
BVW’s level of blame is eight out of ten. There was no way the Wilpons would have paid him, and the Phillies’ contract was absurdly high at the time. The scarlet letter that BVW must wear is the dismissiveness of this quote.
2) Non-tendering Wilmer Flores
Wilmer’s knee problems The Mets were hesitant to offer Flores a contract for the 2019 campaign after seeing how good he was. Flores, who was never a regular player but is arguably the most beloved player in Mets history, has kept dispelling those injury rumors.
Flores signed with the Arizona Diamondbacks after becoming a free agent. In a limited capacity, he hit.317/.361/.487. At the time, the only stat that wasn’t the best of his career was the slugging percentage, which came up just short by one run.
Flores has aged quite gracefully. Long gone are his days at shortstop. However, in his last four years with the San Francisco Giants, Flores has played plenty of second base and third base in addition to first base. His bat has remained very much alive. In 2023, Flores batted .284/.355/.509 with 23 home runs and 60 RBI in 454 trips to the plate.
By the end of the 2024 season, Flores might be perceived more as a Giants player than a Mets player. Just 110 games separate him.
It’s difficult to imagine how Flores could have adapted to life with the Mets over the years. Although it’s likely that he left at some point due to injury concerns, Van Wagenen’s decision to not tender him for $20 million over two years is absurd, especially when we consider that Jed Lowrie would only pinch hit a few times and strike out in most of them.
BW’s level of blame: ten out of ten The cherry on top is the reason for the injuries, and going from Wilmer Flores to Jed Lowrie is the icing on the cake.
3. The deal involving Jake Marisnick
Trading players for fifth outfielders was Van Wagenen’s obsession. Jake Marisnick would contend with that role in the 2020 season. Sadly, Marisnick’s injury and the shortened season prevented him from playing in more than 16 games. In his limited time with the Mets, he did hit well, slashing.333/.353/.606. Regretfully, he was merely a rental. Before we knew Marisnick was here, he was gone.
We know things would have gone worse with more games. The journeyman outfielder, who has now played for six different teams after leaving the Mets, has only appeared in 176 games over those three seasons with a batting average below .230.
In this trade, the Mets forfeited two players. The first, left-handed reliever Blake Taylor, was able to assemble a pair of incredibly successful seasons out of the Houston Astros bullpen. His 2.18 ERA during the postponed 2020 season demonstrated that it wasn’t an anomaly as he recorded a 3.16 ERA in 2021. He struggled in 2022 and was in Triple-A for the entire previous season. As a Texas Rangers player now, we’ll have to wait and see how much longer this loss stings.
Not finished yet, the Met also surrendered Kenedy Corona in the deal. An outfielder who’ll turn 24 later this month, he’s a rising prospect in the Houston system. He hit 22 home runs and stole 32 bases in the minors last season with a .251/.331/.458 slash line.
At the time of the trade, Corona had only been professionally trained for a year. Should it be used against Van Wagenen? It is necessary to assign blame. Corona was the Astros’ 11th-ranked prospect at the end of the previous season. Hurt!
BVW’s level of blame: six out of ten – Who knew Kenedy Corona would become a real prospect and Blake Taylor would become so effective so quickly? The Astros, it seems, and not Van Wagenen.
4) Focusing the entire 2019 MLB Draft on Matt Allan
Even though it will receive a low rating, this deserves to be mentioned. The Mets’ entire 2019 MLB Draft strategy was centered around securing enough bonus slot money to select high school pitcher Matt Allan. For the entirety of his professional career, Allan has been injured by something that is beyond anyone’s control.
So far, the audacious plan has proven to be a huge failure. Potential was shown by Brett Baty in the first round. Josh Wolf, a second-round pick, helped the Mets acquire Francisco Lindor, at least. There weren’t even any unexpected hits throughout the remainder of the draft. Even though a few of the players that were selected are still with the team, no clear cut star is on the verge of breaking out.
Allan has only played in 10.1 innings since the Mets selected him. Van Wagenen is not the only one responsible for these unanticipated injuries. It does, however, add a small irony, given that Wheeler and Flores—the two players he did let go—were not invited back due in part to health concerns.
Blame Level for BVW: 2 out of 10 – Something about putting all of your eggs into one basket and the handle of said basket breaking.
A bonus wag of the finger at Brodie Van Wagenen
What about Arnaud Travis? He was non-tendered by the Mets at the beginning of 2019, and he has carried a chip on his shoulder ever since. Here, there is no accountability. Despite having years to establish himself, d’Arnaud was never able to remain on the field or produce at a level that met the demands of the pitcher. We really have no choice but to raise our hands in this situation and wonder whose amulet Van Wagenen broke in order to be cursed for that move.