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PORT ST. LUCIE — Ben Zauzmer was hired by the Mets before last season to essentially build an analytics department from the foundation up. The 29-year-old Harvard graduate arrived having spent the previous six seasons with the Dodgers.

In December, the Mets promoted Zauzmer to assistant general manager — one of three in the organization under GM Billy Eppler. The move gave Zauzmer a louder voice in helping construct the roster.

The Philadelphia native’s passions extend beyond baseball. For much of the last decade, he’s been a noted Oscars prognosticator. Though the Academy Awards show is Sunday night, we’re sorry to inform you we won’t be getting any predictions from Zauzmer here; at the time of our interview, those picks were under embargo due to an agreement he had with the Hollywood Reporter.