Danny Moloshok/Associated Press
When the Mets hired Brodie Van Wagenen as their new general manager last October, they wholly embraced, even promoted, his status as an unconventional outsider — a converted player agent. The team made a similarly unorthodox addition on Tuesday, announcing that Jessica Mendoza, a baseball analyst for ESPN, would join the team’s front office as a baseball operations adviser to Van Wagenen.
The Mets said Mendoza, a softball gold medalist in the 2004 Olympic Games who joined ESPN in 2007, would focus on player evaluation, roster construction, and health and performance. But in noting that Mendoza also would retain her high-profile role on “Sunday Night Baseball” telecasts, the announcement gave a new dimension to questions about objectivity for ESPN.