New York Mets, J.P. Ricciardi part ways in continued front office shakeup

The New York Mets front office is continuing to be overhauled, with assistant to the GM, J.P. Ricciardi, leaving the organization.

When J.P. Ricciardi joined the New York Mets front office in 2010, it was a homecoming of sorts. He had been a player in their minor league system for two years, before his underwhelming playing career came to an end. However, he was recognized for his baseball intellect, becoming a coach, a scout, and later moving into the front office. Ricciardi spent eight years as the Toronto Blue Jays GM before being fired in 2009, and after a year on Baseball Tonight, he joined the Mets front office in November 2010 as an assistant to then-GM Sandy Alderson.

However, with a new general manager in town, the Mets front office is undergoing a bit of a shakeup. Ricciardi was caught up in those changes, as he and the organization mutually agreed to part ways, effective immediately, on Friday.

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While it is not a surprise that new GM Brodie Van Wagenen would want to remake the Mets front office, it is a bit of a surprise that someone as well respected as Ricciardi would have such an unceremonious ouster. Van Wagenen has no experience in the intricacies of running a franchise or scouting. Ricciardi, meanwhile, has been a baseball lifer, someone that could have proven invaluable to the neophyte GM.

In the end, it is possible that this simply was not a good fit any longer. Van Wagenen is still a wild card; his vision for the organization unknown. Ricciardi may not have been the right type of person to help mold the Mets in the way Van Wagenen desires.

Ricciardi may not be the only casualty of the new regime. Another long time member of the Mets front office, assistant GM John Ricco, also faces an unknown future with the organization. It would make sense to keep some level of continuity, and have people around to help Van Wagenen transition to his current role, that may not happen.

The New York Mets front office is going to see a shakeup in the coming weeks. J.P. Ricciardi was the first prominent member to depart, but he may not be the last.