Ruben is moving on up, according to Jayson Stark:

Van Wagenen was recently hired to replace Sandy Alderson, who had been the Mets’ GM since 2010 but took a leave of absence in the summer to address a recurrence of cancer.

I don’t have much of a Ruben opinion, so I asked BWanks to share his thoughts on this:

Wanks:

“Amaro faced certain constrictions as a part of an organization that valued loyalty and sentimentality because they were, quite frankly, unaccustomed to success and didn’t know how to handle it. Amaro wasn’t necessarily a “good” GM here, but wasn’t the clown show he’s made out to be. If Howie Roseman can learn from his previous failings, there’s no reason Amaro can’t.”

Agreed.

Van Wagenen doesn’t have a ton of experience. He was previously an agent and is taking on his first GM job at age 44, so he could use some veteran guys to help guide him. Guys like Ruben Amaro Jr. and… Omar Minaya?!

Minaya and Ruben working together in the Mets front office?

What a world.