GM Minaya leaving Expos for Mets' front office

NEW YORK (AP) -- Omar Minaya is leaving the Montreal Expos to become the head of baseball operations for the New York Mets.

Minaya, the general manager of the Montreal Expos for the past three seasons, was contacted earlier this week and told the Mets on Tuesday that he would leave the Expos to return to New York, a baseball official said Tuesday on the condition he not be identified.

Mets owner Fred Wilpon declined comment when reached at his home Tuesday night.

Minaya had spoken with the Mets last offseason and was offered a job, but declined it when he was not offered full decision-marking power. He now will be above general manager Jim Duquette in the hierarchy, although his formal title has not yet been determined, the baseball official said.

Minaya's hiring probably will be announced Friday, the official said, when the Expos start a season-ending three-game series at New York.

He was senior assistant general manager of the Mets before he was hired by the commissioner's office as general manager of the Expos in 2002. He is known for his emphasis on scouting and player development.

New York flopped in the second half this year and heads into the final four days of the season with a 70-88 record, fourth in the NL East, ahead of only the Expos.

The Mets already have told manager Art Howe that he is being fired at the end of the season, halfway through a $9.4 million, four-year contract.

Minaya's status with the Expos was uncertain. The team likely will be moved to Washington, D.C., next year, with an announcement possible as soon as Wednesday. The franchise, bought by the other 29 teams before the 2002 season, likely will be sold during the offseason.