Former New York Mets player doesn’t have to work hard to win over Yankees fans after his introductory press conference focused heavily on being an old-school voice in a new-school world.
Minaya reveals a shocking NY Yankees trade he almost made
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Analytics are unquestionably important in modern baseball operations, but… something has seemed off about the Yankees’ analytics team in recent years.
Brian Cashman will be back for the next four years, and it will be for a reason. He’s been adept at filling gaps with astute trades, and he clearly has the ability to close big-money deals when Hal Steinbrenner gives him the green light. Still, the Yankees should always be on the lookout for new faces, especially when those faces have a track record of success elsewhere.
Ex-Giants GM Brian Sabean rejoined the team on Tuesday, promising that winning the World Series would be his top priority after joining the scouting operation.
When Minaya arrived on Thursday, he emphasized the importance of keeping an eye out for shifts in humanity rather than numbers.
Omar Minaya: “I think we all agree that the game has changed. “I think we all have to be open to new information. I’m a big believer in the human element."https://t.co/bVoWBX3Thh
— Bryan Hoch (@BryanHoch) January 5, 2023
Omar Minaya of the Mets nearly traded Zack Wheeler to the Yankees in 2018
Minaya, a native New Yorker, wowed the audience with stories of being in the crowd for Bat Day at Yankee Stadium in the 1960s and securing a Hector Lopez model.
Minaya was riding with them during the franchise’s darkest and least star-studded days, so if he fit in well then, he should fit in well now.
He came close to reaching the summit while serving as the Mets’ general manager from the end of 2004 to the end of 2010. The 2006 Mets were the best and brightest team in modern history, winning 97 games and winning the NL East by 12 games. However, Minaya was eventually fired, primarily for the manner in which he and his team handled the circus-like dismissal of Yankees captain Willie Randolph from the managerial position.
Minaya returned to the Mets after the 2017 season, briefly filling in for Sandy Alderson, who took a leave of absence due to cancer treatments. During that brief window in 2018, it turns out Minaya was partially responsible for the failed trade that summer, when Cashman’s Yankees were on the verge of acquiring Mets starter Zack Wheeler.
Asked Omar Minaya about his past dealings with Brian Cashman as a GM. He recalled the 2003 Mike Stanton for Felix Heredia trade. He also said they worked on a 2018 deal that could have sent Zack Wheeler to the Bronx.
— Bryan Hoch (@BryanHoch) January 5, 2023
We’ll be thinking about that potential package until the cows come home, and the 2019 Yankees could’ve used an arm like Wheeler’s; he struck out 195 batters in 195.1 innings in what was, at the time, his most durable season.
Perhaps New York will never trade Justus Sheffield for James Paxton after the 2018 season, instead trading Sheff and company for Wheeler a few months earlier? The men who know exactly what type of trade was almost completed — as well as how and why it fell apart — now share a common goal in the Bronx, which appears to be a more efficient way for them to operate.
