Mets to Hire Luis Rojas as Manager

The Mets apparently have a new manager — their third in just a few short months! Brodie Van Wagenen said Wednesday he is negotiating a multi-year deal with Luis Rojas.

“Luis earned this job,” Van Wagenen said. “He has literally trained his whole life to be a manager. He comes from a legacy family (the Alous. More on that later). … He is respected by the players. He is trusted by the players. And he’s someone that we have great confidence in — [with] his ability to lead our team now, and his ability to put our players, and put us, in the best position to succeed.

“The short version is he’s very, very well-qualified, and we anticipate him to be a great addition to our team. We think that he has the ability to be consistent, to be calm under pressure and to understand the opportunity that this team has as we head into 2020.”

The 38-year-old Rojas has been with the franchise for 13 years now. He was a minor league manager for several seasons, and last year was the team’s quality control coach and outfield instructor. One wonders why he didn’t get the job in the first place; he appears to be far more qualified than noted cheater Carlos Beltran.

Now to why he does not have the same last name as his famous father Felipe Alou, his uncles and his half-brother Moises. Well, according to MLB.com:

In the D.R., Felipe went by his paternal last name, Rojas. A mixup over Latin American naming conventions led to a Minor League official listing his surname as Alou, that of his mother.

The error stuck. Two of Rojas’ uncles, Felipe’s brothers Jesus and Matty, also adopted Alou as their last name as they put together solid big league careers.

So there you go. Whatever name he has, he is the manager of the New York Mets. Good luck to him!