Omar Minaya joins MLBPA

NEW YORK -- Former New York Mets general manager Omar Minaya is leaving his job as senior vice president of the San Diego Padres to become a special adviser to union head Tony Clark.

Minaya started in baseball management as a scout for the Texas Rangers, where he helped sign Sammy Sosa.

Born in the Dominican Republic, Minaya became the major leagues' first Hispanic general manager with the Montreal Expos from 2002 to 2004. He left the Expos to become GM of his hometown Mets, who fired him after the 2010 season. He was hired by the Padres in December 2011.

Minaya is following the path of Hall of Famer Dave Winfield, who left his job as executive vice president/senior adviser of the Padres after a dozen years in December 2013 to become a special assistant to Clark at the Major League Baseball Players Association.

The 56-year-old Minaya is reversing the path of former major leaguer Tony Bernazard, who was a special assistant for the union from 1992 until he left to work with Minaya and the Mets from 2004-09.