NEW YORK -- Brodie Van Wagenen's first major front-office shakeup involved a lieutenant who spent nearly a decade alongside former general manager Sandy Alderson in Flushing. J.P. Ricciardi, who served as a special advisor to Alderson for eight seasons, formally agreed Friday to part ways with the Mets.
Ricciardi is free to pursue other opportunities around baseball, effective immediately.
"I want to express my gratitude to Fred and Jeff [Wilpon] for giving me the opportunity to spend the last eight years in New York," Ricciardi said in a statement. "Additionally, I want to thank Sandy for originally bringing me to New York and serving as a great mentor and an even better friend. Helping the Wilpon family towards their goal of making the Mets a successful franchise year in and year out was an honor. I'm looking forward to my next chapter and will continue to wish Brodie and the rest of the organization success." 
Jeff Wilpon said in his own statement that the Mets are "grateful for all J.P. has brought to the team over the last eight seasons" and "wish him all the best going forward."
The Blue Jays' GM from 2001-09, Ricciardi spent time between jobs as an ESPN analyst. With the Mets, he played an integral role in all aspects of baseball operations, from scouting to free-agent negotiations. When Alderson took a leave of absence this summer due to health reasons, Ricciardi joined Omar Minaya and John Ricco as the Mets' acting heads of baseball operations.
Minaya will remain with the Mets on a full-time basis, though his exact role is not yet clear. Ricco's future with the organization is uncertain; Van Wagenen did not directly answer when asked on multiple occasions this week about Ricciardi and Ricco. The latter is the Mets' longest-tenured baseball operations employee, and has been their assistant GM since 2006.
Van Wagenen has hinted that he intends to make baseball operations hires from outside the organization, as well.