Oh, disfunction.
The front office of the New York Mets has dictated at least a few pitching decisions during games this season, according to ESPN. While it’s not unusual for front offices to have a say in upcoming pitching matchups and batting lineups, the way the bullpen is handled is typically left up to the manager.
One of the strange moves came, according to The New York Post, earlier this month when Jacob deGrom was pulled from a game due to a cramp in his hip on June 1.
Several people associated with other teams confirmed to ESPN that it is nearly unheard of for an owner or general manager to step in during a game to make a pitching call, but since former Mets GM Sandy Alderson was fired last year, that standard has shifted under Brodie Van Wagenen. Since Van Wagenen took over, directions have allegedly been delivered to manager Mickey Callaway via members of the team’s clubhouse staff mid-game.
But Van Wagenen has denied these reports and chalked up his communication with staff members during games to “normal protocol,” ESPN reported.
“We’re evaluating the players’ health, we’re talking about X-rays, we’re talking about whether a player — as you all know — we try to get information to the press box as quickly as possible about the statuses,” he said. “We’ll continue to do that and make sure that if the training staff and the health of the player is such that the player can’t continue, then that communication happens between the training staff and the coaches.”
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