Former GM Omar Minaya Named Special Assistant to Sandy Alderson by Mets

The New York Mets announced Friday that former general manager Omar Minaya has been appointed to serve as a special assistant to general manager Sandy Alderson.

"Omar has a long history with the Mets," Alderson noted. "He has served the club well in many different areas. Omar will be a resource on scouting and player development, will consult on player acquisitions and will serve as a community ambassador. We are very happy to have him back in the organization."

Minaya, 59, served as the Mets' senior assistant general manager (1997-02) and general manager (2004-10). He also spent time with the Texas Rangers in the team's scouting department (1985-1997), served as the Montreal Expos' vice president and general manager (2002-04) and the San Diego Padres' vice president of baseball operations (2011-15).

"I'm excited to return to an organization that I love," Minaya said in the team's statement. "I'm thrilled I can return to scouting and developing young talent. I look forward to working for Sandy and his staff."

The Mets posted four winning seasons during Minaya's tenure but reached the postseason just once, making the NLCS in 2006 before being eliminated in seven games by the St. Louis Cardinals. His teams also had several infamous September collapses, giving up a seven-game lead in the NL East with 17 games remaining to the Philadelphia Phillies in 2007 and a 3.5-game lead with 17 games remaining to the Phillies, once again, in 2008.

As the New York Post added, however, "Minaya also was responsible for adding a slew of talented players like Daniel Murphy, Juan Lagares, Jacob deGrom, Jeurys Familia and Matt Harvey that fueled the Mets' run to the 2015 World Series."