NEW YORK, NY — There will be a ton of activity in Major League Baseball this month, with many in the know predicting deals get made sooner rather than later. 

The attention of Mets fans will be on trades and free agents now that the offseason is underway. While marquee players will certainly be grabbing the headlines, the Mets should take advantage of a free agent for their executive ranks.

Omar Minaya, who was born in the Dominican Republic, but grew up in Corona, Queens and attended PS 13, IS 61, and Newtown High School, was the Mets general manager for its best team of this century, the 2006 squad. While the Mets suffered heartbreaking Septembers in both 2007 and 2008, he put together teams which competed for the entire season.

Today’s Mets fans would sign up for that in a heartbeat after what they’ve witnessed the last two years in Flushing.

Nelson Cruz chatting with Latino Sports founder and president Julio Pabón, Omar Minaya and Ray Negron during batting practice at Yankee Stadium in 2023 – Image Credit: Maz Adams/Latino Sports

The Madoff scandals, which became public in late 2008, severely affected the Mets owners at the time, the Wilpon family. Since they were under financial duress, they were not going to invest in quality baseball players. The Mets quickly deteriorated. After finishing four games below .500 in 2010, the Mets fired Minaya.

Since then, Omar Minaya has been associated with several baseball teams. He served the last four years as a special adviser to Yankees general manager Brian Cashman. The New York Post’s Jon Heyman reported last week that his contract, and that of another well-respected MLB executive, Brian Sabean, were not renewed by the Yankees. My guess is Yankees CEO Hal Steinbrenner wanted to trim administrative payroll with a labor lockout looming next month.

Minaya was the first to scout Baseball Hall of Fame centerfielder Carlos Beltrán when he was a teenager in Puerto Rico. The two would be reunited when Minaya, then the Mets GM, signed him to a lucrative long-term contract in 2005. Beltrán is currently an executive with the Mets.

I asked Carlos this past September when the Mets retired his No. 15 if he had remained in contact with Minaya. “Absolutely, he is a source of wisdom and inspiration to me,” he replied without hesitation.

Inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Mets Hall of Fame this past summer, Carlos Beltrán became the sixth Puerto Rican-born Cooperstown Hall of Famer and ninth player to have his number retired by the Mets – Image Credit: George Napolitano/Latino Sports   

Mets CEO Steve Cohen said numerous times over the last season that he would like for Mets president of baseball operations David Stearns to be listening to other voices in the organization.

Cohen correctly added that sustained success for the Mets can only come through scouting amateur talent. Omar Minaya checks the boxes for everything Steve Cohen is seeking.

And like Cohen, he grew up being a Mets fan.

With MLB’s potential lockout looming on December 1st and the Mets looking to improve on 2026, David Stearns and Steve Cohen will have a busy offseason – Image Credit: Bill Menzel/Latino Sports

Coincidentally, the man who succeeded Minaya as the GM of the Mets, Sandy Alderson, is a candidate for the Baseball Hall of Fame’s non-player category. Alderson was the architect of the 2015 Mets team which lost to the Kansas City Royals in the World Series that year. Given the financial constraints the Mets placed upon him, it is amazing the Mets were able to get that far. 

Alderson richly deserves baseball’s greatest honor.

Nolan McLean named 2026 Gold Glove Award recipient for National League Pitcher

The Mets understandably will not be winning many postseason awards, so it was a pleasant surprise for their fans that ace pitcher Nolan McLean was the recipient of a Gold Glove for his fine fielding.

Fanatics Running It Back: Fourth Edition of Fanatics Fest NYC scheduled for June 24-27 of 2027

The wait is over 🤩

See you June 24-27, 2027 at the Javits Center

Head to https://t.co/fohPhtq35s for more info pic.twitter.com/puM7gh8GCL

— Fanatics Fest (@FanaticsFest) November 2, 2026

Fanatics Fest will return to Javits Center for its fourth iteration from June 24-27 of 2027 at the Javits Center. It will be followed at Javits by the culinary industry trade show Super Bowl, the Fancy Food Show.

Our World Changing Around Us: ISC East goes down in Manhattan 

ISC East, a trade show and conference devoted to security technology, took place in Manhattan last week. One of the necessary annoyances for sports fans given the world we are living in is going through security checkpoints when attending a game. Pockets must be emptied, bags must be opened, and frequently fans must get scanned with a wand if any beeps go off when going through a detector.

Things may be changing soon. The Intuit Dome, the home of the Los Angeles Clippers, uses touchless security and facial recognition which is now part of every fan’s electronic ticket. Security experts told me at the ISC show that the Intuit Dome technology will quickly become standard in the sports industry.

Hats off to Latino Sports’ George Napolitano for much-deserving induction in International Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame  

@Starshot9 George Napolitano, your IPWHF 2026 Excelsior Award recipient.

George, welcome to the International Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame. 👊🏻 pic.twitter.com/uPEWNWeCFX

— International Pro Wrestling Hall of Fame (NY) (@IPWHF) September 23, 2026

Congratulations to my Latino Sports colleague, photographer George Napolitano, on his induction last week into the International Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame which is in Albany.

George has photographed grapplers going back to when matches were a monthly staple at the now defunct Sunnyside Gardens.

Lloyd Carroll is a contributor at Latino Sports and a longtime writer at The Queens Chronicle, Queens’ largest weekly newspaper since 1989. 

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