Reese Kaplan -- If Rojas Is Gone, Should the Mets Right a Wrong?

A lot of people in the land of Mets fans were very upset when Brodie Van Wagenen seemingly dismissed club favorite Edgardo Alfonzo without any explanation for why he had done so.  In his final season managing the Brooklyn Cyclones he delivered them a championship on September 10, 2019 against all other competition in the New York-Penn League.  For that Van Wagenen rewarded him with an exit from the clubhouse.

Now if you search for a rationale as to why it happened, you'll come up fairly empty.  Van Wagenen said it was a "player development decision" which is interesting since the players who were indeed developed by Alfonzo had nothing but praise for the man.  

He had gone around the mill as a player, finally ending his career with the Long Island Ducks alongside former teammate Armando Benitez before joining the Cyclones as a coach before being promoted to manager.  He delivered the team their first championship in 18 years yet he was not beloved by the General Manager.  

Cynics think that Van Wagenen was upset that Alfonzo never considered hooking up with him as his agent, but that speculation is not rooted in facts, merely conjecture.  Jeff Wilpon wanted to retain Alfonzo to perform public appearances and goodwill on behalf of the club, but Alfonzo wanted to be in a uniform and in the dugout calling the shots.  

In fact, when Van Wagenen called Alfonzo to meet, the A-ball manager thought he was receiving a promotion for all that he had accomplished, not being separated from the team that found him in Venezuela.  

The Mets did make a great gesture during this 2021 season when Alfonzo joined Jon Matlack and Ron Darling with induction into the club's Hall of Fame.  I take off my hat to salute new owner Steve Cohen for trying to mend fences with a fan favorite whose dishonor by Van Wagenen was undeserved.  

The question now is whether or not that honor bestowed upon Alfonzo is enough to mend the broken fence created by technically Jared Porter's predecessor.  More importantly, if Luis Rojas is shown the door for his inability to motivate any of his hitters other than Pete Alonso and to manage during the plague of injuries, would Alfonzo be a suitable replacement?  

He would certainly cost a lot less than veteran MLB managers seeking work.  He would be applauded loudly by the fan base and the media for his hire, but of course a manager (other than Terry Collins) is judged on wins and losses, not popularity.  

Right now the club is without a GM, they have a soon-to-retire multi-faceted front office person in Sandy Alderson, Luis Rojas is on very thin ice and there are innumerable roster issues to resolve.  

Somewhere far down the list is who will be the next face of the franchise when it comes to running the clubhouse, but you could certainly do a lot worse than bring Fonzie back where he belongs.  He's respected by the players, adored by the fans and would restore some faith in Queens after a disappointing 2021 season.