Rachel Minaya, the wife of former Mets general manager and current Yankees executive Omar Minaya, was found dead in their New Jersey home on Saturday.
The news was confirmed by a person briefed by the family to newyork post, who stated that suicide has been ruled out as the cause of death. Omar Minaya was not at home at the time of his wife’s death.
The Minayas have two adult sons, Justin and Teddy. Justin, a forward with the Portland Trail Blazers, has been playing for their summer league team in Las Vegas this month. According to a 2007 Sports Illustrated profile, Omar met Rachel in 1989 at a Manhattan hair salon, and they got engaged within a year during a trip to Italy.
Omar Minaya joined the Yankees at the start of 2023 as a senior adviser to general manager Brian Cashman. He previously served as GM of the Montreal Expos before the franchise moved to Washington and became the Nationals. Minaya also worked for the Texas Rangers in a scouting capacity and as vice president of baseball operations for the San Diego Padres from 2011 to 2015.
Minaya was hired as the Mets’ GM after the 2004 season, where he signed notable players such as Carlos Beltran and Pedro Martinez, helping the team reach the NLCS in 2006. He oversaw drafts that brought in talent like Jacob deGrom and Matt Harvey, contributing to the Mets’ 2015 World Series run.
With the Yankees, Minaya has been involved with the big-league club and made trips to minor league affiliates and international locations. He is one of three former GMs in the team’s front office, alongside Brian Sabean and Jim Hendry. Before joining the Yankees, Minaya worked for the MLB Players Association and served as an amateur scouting consultant for MLB.
