The Minnesota Twins parted ways with long-time scout and executive Deron Johnson in September after eliminating his senior advisor position, according to the Star Tribune's Bobby Nightengale. Johnson had been with the Twins organization for more than three decades.
It didn't take long for Johnson to find a new job. According to The Athletic's Will Sammon, the New York Mets are hiring Johnson as a special assignment scout. He joins former Twins president Derek Falvey in New York's front office, led by David Stearns.
Johnson played three seasons of minor league ball before becoming a scout with the Twins in 1994. He played for the Pittsburgh Pirates organization from 1988-90.
Former Twins scout Deron Johnson joins Mets after 30+ years with Minnesota
Johnson served as an assistant coach at the University of San Francisco from 1992-93 before the Twins hired him. He served as a scout for Minnesota from 1994-2007. He became Minnesota's scouting director in 2007. After the 2016 season, the Twins moved Johnson into a senior advisory role. Johnson was also the Twins' advance scout for the playoffs from 2005-10.
The fact that Johnson found a job quickly after leaving the Twins proves he is well-respected in the league. With the looming lockout, the Twins likely wanted to make cuts to the front office, which is why they let Johnson go. Since he had been with the organization since 1994, the decision was widely unpopular among Twins Territory.
Clearly, Falvey is a big fan of Johnson. One would assume Falvey advocated for New York to hire Johnson and may even have been the one to hire him. Falvey's title with the Mets is senior adviser for baseball operations.
The Mets are in an interesting spot. Owner Steve Cohen isn't afraid to make big roster investments, as the team led MLB in 2026 payroll at $346,736,805, according to Spotrac. However, despite that high payroll, the Mets finished last in the National League East with a 74-88 record.
Last offseason, the Mets made several big moves, including acquiring Freddy Peralta, Luis Robert Jr. and Marcus Semien in trades, and signing Devin Williams, Luke Weaver, Bo Bichette and Jorge Polanco.
It'll be interesting to see how the Mets operate this offseason. Will they go into a mini-rebuild? Or will they continue to spend? Obviously, the organization would prefer to return to the playoffs sooner rather than later, but a small rebuild may be best.
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