Wednesday, both the New York Times and the Daily News reported that the Mets were going to fire Special Assisant to the General Manager Ramon Pena, who was described as the “top official in charge of signing international talent” in the News. Minor League Field Coordinator Luis Aguayo, who ran much of the instruction in Spring Training, XST and fall instructional league in Port St. Lucie has also been let go.
There are a number of ways to view this episode in Mets personnel management, focusing on Pena’s dismissal:
1.The simplest is that this is another sign of an organization that is simply not healthy.
2. It is a warning shot across Omar Minaya’s bow from the owners who sign his paychecks. General Managers do not generally fire their special assistants willingly. Minaya has been unable to protect Willy Randolph, Tony Bernazard and now Pena from the media and ownership. If ownership stands by their word to bring back both Minaya and Manager Jerry Manuel, surely, some of Manuel’s coaches will be gone before November as well.
3. This should be the end of the Pedro Theory. Remember, all the way back in 2005, when the Mets believed that signing Pedro Martinez was about more than baseball and that his presence would lure young Latin, especially Dominican ballplayers to the Mets? In truth, young ballplayers care about money and opportunity, not a player twice their age.
4. Will the Mets Front Office be understaffed this winter as they deal with a very tricky redesign for 2010? Adam Rubin reports that VP of Scouting Sandy Johnson plans to retire, although “the Mets are apparently trying to persuade him not to.” Of Minaya’s top five lieutenants on Opening Day 2009, with Bernazard, Johnson and Pena gone, only AGM John Ricco and Special Assistant to the GM Bryan Lambe remain.
5. Was Pena simply fired for poor job performance? Rubin:
“Pena’s dismissal signals displeasure with the performance of a number of high-caliber Latin American prospects signed as teenagers.”
David Waldstein in the Times:
“The Mets had hoped that Minaya’s management team would produce more major league talent from Latin America, and it appears the pressure is on to have better results.”
These quotes might well be an accurate portrayal of upper management impatience, but they do a major disservice to how baseball players develop. It is simply unfair to expect a an executive whose business is largely to bet on 16 and 17 year old players to produce Major League results in just over three years.
Do the math. Pena was hired on July 18, 2006. The international signing period begins on July 2. Pena’s first full class, for which much of the actual legwork, including scouting and negotiations, was the 2007 group.
At
SNY.tv, Ted Berg takes issue with the idea that the Mets Latin signings have underperformed. As Ted points out,
Deolis Guerra, who was signed pre-Pena, was used to acquire Johan Santana, which means he’s been extraordinarily valuable at the MLB level.
Fernando Martinez joined 71 other players in the last 50 years to make his MLB debut at age 20 or younger and have at least 80 plate appearances in that first season.
6. Evaluating Pena’s job performance from the outside is very difficult. What were his precise responsabilities as a special assistant? What kind of budget was he given annually? Where did his responsabilities end and Director of International Operations Ismael Cruz’s begin? Which players did he want to sign but could not because the Mets were outbid by other teams? Moreover, the majority of young players signed out of Latin America will not reach rookie-ball in the States, let alone become become big leaguers. Because of unpredictability of results, process must take on greater import.
7. Busted – The Real Reason. Rubin:
“A source said he worked as a high-level executive for
Gigantes del Cibao, a Dominican winter-league team, without permission of the Mets last offseason, which irked team officials.”
This certainly sounds like a nearly fireable offense. If I was paying someone a yearly salary, and they took another high-profile job while on my payroll, I’d let them walk too. Did Pena take the Cibao job for money or experience? If it’s money, shouldn’t the Mets be paying their top executives enough that they don’t have to moonlight in the Domincan in the offseason? If it’s experience, what does that say about Pena’s regard for his colleagues and bosses?
8. Who’s Next?
Waldstein:
“The departure of Pena, whose responsibilities included international scouting, is expected to be part of a larger shakeup in scouting and player development.”
Just to get everyone up to speed on the names, Rudy Terrasas is the Director of Amateur Scouting. David Lakey, his sole National Crosschecker, is second in command. Tim Fortugno (West) and Steve Barningham (East) are the Regional Crosscheckers.
On the minor league side, Adam Wogan is Director of Minor League Operations and the acting Director of Player Development. Rafael Perez oversees International Player Development. Wogan now oversees the Coordinators, including now former Field Coordinator, Aguayo. Other coordinators include: Kevin Morgan (Coordinator of Instruction/Infield), Rick Waits (Pitching), Lamar Johnson (Hitting) and Bob Natal (Catching).
Obviously, 2009 has been an extraordinarily disappointing year on the field for the Mets. But is the team working on fixing its structure or dispatching scapegoats?
Monday, the Mets announced that OF Lucas Duda and SS Reese Havens would complete the Mets contributions to the Surpris Rafters in the Arizona Fall League. Duda and Havens join 1B Ike Davis, RHP Jenrry Mejia, SS Ruben Tejada, RHP Scott Moviel, LHP Eric Niesen and RHP Josh Stinson in the desert.
I’m baffled by the Jerry Manuel quotes in 
The Major League season is slowly coming to its painful close for the Mets, but the team has already been busy firing minor league staffers.
Baseball America is running through their series of the best prospects in each minor league. None of the GCL Mets made their league’s top 20, but Cesar Puello is 
The US defended its IBAF World Cup title by beating Cuba 10-6 on Sunday in front of a sellout crowd of 5,600 in 
In light of Special Assistant Ramon Pena’s firing, lets take a look at some of the Mets top international prospects performances this season. All of the players listed numerically are among my top 30 Mets prospects.