John Ricco is like Middle America. He gets passed over a lot.
He has worked for three Mets general managers and twice served as an interim GM. Yet he has never ascended to be the full-time GM despite bringing a positive mien at problematic junctures and being the good soldier.
How good a soldier? Ricco just served as Jeff Wilpon’s co-pilot in information gathering and interviewing a successor to Sandy Alderson, though he was never considered a candidate.
Now, he has to decide if he wants to work for a fourth Mets GM — after Jim Duquette, Omar Minaya and Alderson — with the hiring of Brodie Van Wagenen. Ricco has a contract for 2019, but does he have a job?
“I am going to sit down [with Van Wagenen] and see if there is a role and a fit for me,” Ricco said. “I have to have a conversation, but there is no commitment yet. But I wholeheartedly agreed with this hire. Brodie checked a lot of boxes. This is no different than when Sandy [was hired], when I had to figure out if there was a space for me. What Jeff said is true: You have to give the new guy the ability to do it his way and we will see what happens.”
Several outside executives thought Van Wagenen would be well served to retain Ricco, in part because Ricco has a strong understanding of how the Mets and their owners work. Within the industry, Ricco is considered excellent at navigating what often could be complicated rules, and Van Wagenen, obviously, wants to avoid even clerical mistakes early in his tenure, especially since a faux pas could, for example, lead to losing a player on waivers. Ricco also is viewed as loyal and hardworking — assets that perhaps should have earned him a shot at the big seat.
“[Whether he stays] is less about being passed over and more about any time there is change it is just smart to look in the mirror and ask, ‘What does this mean for me?’ ” Ricco said. “Being passed over has nothing to do with that. Change creates an opportunity to take stock.”
Ricco said he does have a relationship with Van Wagenen, in part because Alderson deputized Ricco to do a lot of work with agents in not just negotiating contracts, but problem solving when issues arose involving clients.
Special assistant Omar Minaya also has history with Van Wagenen from his time as a GM and working at the Players Association. But multiple sources said Minaya’s preference was for Brewers executive Doug Melvin, who also was a finalist for the GM job. Minaya, according to sources, will at least initially have a significant say when it comes to international scouting.
As for the third interim GM, along with Ricco and Minaya, who filled in after Alderson stepped aside, J.P. Ricciardi has a contract for 2019, but Van Wagenen will have to determine if he fits and where. Wilpon said it will be Van Wagenen’s call on how to deploy — or not deploy — Ricco, Minaya and Ricciardi.