David Wright's playing days may be over, but the Mets captain will stay in baseball as he moves into a front office role with the team. On Monday, the Mets announced that Wright will serve as a special assistant to COO Jeff Wilpon and GM Brodie Van Wagenen.

The Mets also announced the official release of Wright -- who is still under contact through 2020 -- from the active roster. The Mets have received significant insurance on that contract over the 28 months that Wright has battled injuries, but he is owed $27 million over the next two seasons, so it can be assumed that a settlement or buyout agreement was reached regarding the remainder of his deal.

"David Wright is an iconic Met and will be forever remembered for his contributions on the field as well as his numerous charitable endeavors," Wilpon said in a statement. "David attended the recent Winter Meetings at the suggestion of myself and Brodie Van Wagenen where he contributed throughout with our baseball operations group and wanted to pursue this route. We are thrilled he will remain close to the Mets family and will be a great asset in this new role."

Wright, 36, played his final game in an emotional farewell at Citi Field last September after years of dealing with spinal issues. Wright might have been on his way to the Baseball Hall of Fame until he was diagnosed with spinal stenosis in 2015, which essentially ended his baseball career. He needed three surgeries to address the back, neck and shoulder issues over the last three years and went over two years without playing in a major league game.

The Mets' captain is the franchise leader in at-bats (5997), RBI (970), singles (1119), doubles (390), hits (1777), plate appearances (6870), runs scored (949) and total bases (2945).