Endy Chavez (Jacob Resnick/MetsMerized)
When the New York Mets announced Edgardo Alfonzo was not returning as the manager for the Brooklyn Cyclones, the organization was put in a position where they needed to find a manager who could fill in Alfonzo’s very large shoes. In addition to being a beloved Mets player, Alfonzo won the first ever outright New York-Penn League championship in franchise history, and some of his former players, including Pete Alonso, spoke highly of the impact Alfonzo had on his young players.
According to sources, Endy Chavez is one of the candidates to replace Alfonzo as the manager of the Cyclones.
This past year, Chavez, 41, was a coach on Alfonzo’s staff. As noted by MMO‘s Jacob Resnick, Chavez oversaw many different things for the Cyclones this past season, including but not limited to base running. Resnick also noted the Cyclones were the second best base running team in the New York-Penn League last season.
Chavez’s impact on the Cyclones base running should not be overlooked as Mets General Manager Brodie Van Wagenen recently informed reporters the Mets decision to reassign Alfonzo in the organization was for player development purposes. On that note, there was a tangible positive impact Chavez had on the Cyclones in his first ever year as a minor league coach.
In addition to his one year of coaching experience with the Cyclones, Chavez told MMO‘s Josh Finkelstein he had been transitioning into the coaching role in his last three years in the Atlantic League by working with younger players on those teams.
Overall, Chavez seems to fit the criteria of being a manager who could help in the development of Mets prospects at the New York-Penn League level. While Chavez was not a player near the stature of Alfonzo, he is a beloved Mets player best known for his robbing Scott Rolen of a homer in Game 7 of the 2006 NLCS.
Certainly, the Mets are going to conduct a thorough search which will include more candidates than just Chavez. That said, Chavez has some aspects working in his favor including his being a fan favorite, his player development work this season with the Cyclones, and his ties to Omar Minaya, who is a special assistant to the general manager.
