Nov. 6 (UPI) -- The New York Mets have parted ways with general manager Brodie Van Wagenen and a significant portion of his front office, the team announced Friday.
The moves were revealed less than an hour after billionaire hedge fund manager Steve Cohen completed his $2.4 billion purchase of the Mets.
Assistant general managers Allard Baird and Adam Guttridge, special assistant to the general manager Omar Minaya and executive director of player development Jared Banner also are leaving the franchise. The status of senior vice president and senior strategy officer John Ricco wasn't disclosed.
Cohen's purchase of the Mets ended the Wilpon family's control of the team after 34 years. In his first move, he hired former Mets general manager Sandy Alderson as team president. He then ended Jeff Wilpon's tenure as chief operating officer.
Alderson announced the staff departures, saying he has already started the process of building a leadership staff.
"I want to thank Brodie, Allard, Adam and Jared for their contributions over the last two years," Alderson said in a statement Friday. "I especially want to thank Omar for his long and distinguished service to the Mets in many important capacities."
Van Wagenen, 46, was a player agent at Creative Artists Agency before Wilpon hired him to replace Alderson after the 2018 season. Under Van Wagenen, the Mets posted an 86-76 record in 2019, followed by a 26-34 mark in the shortened 2020 campaign.
Many of Van Wagenen's high-profile moves failed to work out, including acquiring second baseman Robinson Cano and signing free agents Jed Lowrie and Todd Frazier. All three of those players were among his former clients.
"I am grateful to Jeff for both the incredible opportunity and the unwavering support that he gave to me while in my role of GM," Van Wagenen said Friday. "We took a team that had suffered losing seasons in 2017 and 2018 to contention in 2019 and onto a chance for real success in 2020 prior to the pandemic.
"The energy and excitement of the fans in 2019 will stay in our minds forever. ... Congratulations to Steve Cohen on the purchase of your hometown team. I hope that your energy, competitiveness and resources will be welcomed by Major League Baseball. The sport can benefit from your fearlessness and aggressiveness."
