Omar Minaya has resigned as Senior Vice President of Baseball Operations for the San Diego Padres to take a position with the Major League Baseball Players Association (MLBPA), according to the Associated Press.
It is reported that Minaya will serve as a special adviser to Tony Clark, a 15-year Major League veteran and current head of the MLBPA.
As an adviser, the Dominican Republic native is expected to focus on international affairs with the sport. Players born in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico are currently subject to a draft, but many hope that an international draft can be agreed upon when the current collective bargaining agreement expires at the end of the 2016 season. This makes Minaya’s new role with the MLBPA an important one going forward.
Minaya, who was the league’s first Hispanic general manager, is possibly most known for his six year tenure as general manager of the New York Mets. While with the Mets, he acquired Pedro Martinez, Carlos Beltran, Billy Wagner, Carlos Delgado, Jason Bay and Johan Santana, but New York only made the postseason once under Minaya, despite the number of All-Star caliber players the team brought in. He was fired by the Mets after the 2010 season, and he joined the Padres front office in December 2011.
Minaya was also the general manager of the Montreal Expos from 2002 to 2004, where he made arguably one of the worst trades in baseball history, dealing then-prospects Cliff Lee, Brandon Phillips and Grady Sizemore to the Cleveland Indians for a half-season rental of Bartolo Colon.
This move in similar to the one made by Hall of Fame outfielder Dave Winfield, who left a front office position with San Diego in 2013 to work under Clark with the MLBPA.
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