In a shocking turn of events, former Milwaukee Brewers GM Doug Melvin is a finalist for one of the most high profile GM jobs in baseball, the GM of the New York Mets.
Three years ago, Doug Melvin “transitioned” into a senior advisory role as he made way for a new GM in Milwaukee, who turned out to be David Stearns. The then-63 year old Melvin was basically semi-retired.
The Milwaukee Brewers didn’t want to fire Melvin and remove him from the organization completely, but it was time for a change and he knew it.
But now, according to Anthony DiComo, he’s a finalist for the New York Mets GM opening.
Melvin is the seasoned scouting executive that Fred Wilpon, the Mets’ owner wants. Chaim Bloom is the young, analytically inclined executive that Jeff Wilpon, Fred’s son, wants. Van Wagenen is an agent that nobody should want.
At 66 years old, it’s a little puzzling why Melvin would want the GM job in New York. The owners constantly interfere with baseball operations and it’s really a big mess over there. Melvin is a solid GM, but he seems a little past his prime.
If Melvin’s contract with the Brewers is up at the end of this season, it makes sense for him to look for a new job if he still has that itch to get in the GM chair.
If I’m a Mets fan, my first choice would be Chaim Bloom to be the GM. But considering the third option is a player agent, Melvin would be better for the sanity of Mets fans than Van Wagenen. Melvin is susceptible to going all in on some seasons and sacrificing the farm, which is fine in a big market because they have money to make up for it.
Melvin’s last act as GM was going to be sending Carlos Gomez to the Mets for Wilmer Flores and Zack Wheeler. The Mets nixed the deal for some reason and Melvin was very upset about it, which makes his desire for the Mets job all the more interesting. Perhaps the fallback trade of Gomez and Mike Fiers to Houston for Josh Hader, Domingo Santana, Brett Phillips, and Adrian Houser that worked out so well has eased his anger at the Mets.
Either way, the Milwaukee Brewers could be losing one of their top advisors to current GM David Stearns.