Report: Mets GM threw chair during meeting with coaches
Queens is burning. Again.
New York Mets general manager Brodie Van Wagenen threw a chair during a meeting with the team's coaching staff following Friday's loss at Citi Field, sources told Mike Puma of the New York Post.
Van Wagenen berated manager Mickey Callaway and his coaching staff for wasting ace Jacob deGrom's solid start against the Philadelphia Phillies, according to Puma. He then picked up a chair during the meeting, threw it across the room, and told Callaway to go to his "f---king press conference."
"We as a staff often meet with coaches and players throughout the course of the season," Van Wagenen told Puma when asked for comment about the incident. "I am not going to give the specifics to any of those meetings."
Callaway wouldn't comment on what happened in the meeting but insisted that there are no lingering issues between himself and his boss.
"It's fantastic," the skipper told reporters when asked about his relationship with Van Wagenen following the Mets' win Saturday, according to Anthony DiComo of MLB.com. "We're both passionate guys that want to win."
Friday's loss was a particularly rough one for the Mets. DeGrom allowed just two runs and three hits while striking out 10 in seven innings, but embattled closer Edwin Diaz allowed four runs in the ninth, leading to a 7-2 Phillies win. Diaz's job as the closer was called into question after the loss, though Callaway said prior to Saturday's game that he'll continue in that role "going into today," according to DiComo. Diaz went on to earn his 19th save Saturday.
The chair-throwing episode is the latest issue to befall the Mets during their tumultuous 2019 season. Callaway and pitcher Jason Vargas were both fined after a clubhouse altercation with a reporter last month. That incident received even more attention after Callaway needed a second attempt to issue a public apology for what happened, while Vargas failed to take responsibility.
Van Wagenen, a former player agent who's in his first season as the Mets' GM, was also reported to have ordered Callaway to remove deGrom from a game earlier this season.