Former New York Mets general manager Brodie Van Wagenen was hired as chief operating officer of Roc Nation Sports on Wednesday, returning to the representation business two years after his unconventional leap into a baseball front office.
Van Wagenen, 46, had worked in the past with Roc Nation when he was co-head of the Creative Artists Agency's baseball division, helping negotiate nine-figure contracts for Robinson Cano and Yoenis Cespedes.
The Mets fired Van Wagenen as part of a broad overhaul of their baseball operations department when Steve Cohen purchased the team in November. Roc Nation, owned by Shawn "Jay-Z" Carter and run by Juan Perez, offered a role that includes head of strategy and business development titles.
"We believed in the vision Jay and Juan had back in 2013," Van Wagenen said. "We've stayed in constant contact with them. It was a natural homecoming."
Van Wagenen, whose clients included Cano, Cespedes, Jacob deGrom and Tim Tebow, said that he will focus on bigger-picture issues rather than the day-to-day work of his past as a baseball agent but that he will remain active in the baseball world.
"Brodie's knowledge of the business is indisputable and unparalleled," Carter said in a statement. "Since we first worked with Brodie, we realized the shared commitment to athletes both on and off the field. He's always been extended family and now it's official."
Van Wagenen's tenure with the Mets started with a blockbuster trade that sent top prospect Jarred Kelenic to the Seattle Mariners for Cano and All-Star closer Edwin Diaz. Although the Mets improved to 86-76 in Van Wagenen's first year, they fell short of the playoffs. After the team struggled to a fourth-place finish in 2020, Cohen emptied the front office.