New York Mets staff overhaul backfires to add | Sports News

Several former New York Mets coaches will not be straying far after their current departure from Queens. After a historic meltdown to finish the 2025 season, the Mets determined to shake issues up by letting go of a number of staff members. This contains pitching coach Jeremy Hefner, hitting coaches Jeremy Barnes and Eric Chavez, in addition to third-base coach Mike Sarbaugh.

Just a few days after the L.A. Dodgers stormed back towards the Toronto Blue Jays in Game 7 of the World Series to secure back-to-back championships, the Atlanta Braves introduced on Wednesday that they’ve employed Hefner as their new pitching coach beneath supervisor Walt Weiss, protecting him within the National League East. Joining him in Atlanta can be one other former Met, first base coach Antoan Richardson, who selected to go away regardless of the Mets reportedly wanting to keep him.

Under Hefner’s tutelage over the previous six seasons, Mets pitchers have achieved the sixth-best ERA, allowed the fourth-fewest hits, and racked up the fifth-most strikeouts within the National League, in accordance to an official press release. For a vital half of final season’s first half, the Mets’ beginning pitchers had the best ERA in MLB earlier than accidents and inconsistent efficiency took a toll on their rotation.

Richardson, however, turned the Mets into a base-stealing powerhouse, with the staff ending the season with the very best stolen base proportion (89.1 %) within the majors. His most notable affect was on star outfielder Juan Soto, who stole a career-high 38 bases regardless of solely surpassing 10 stolen bases in a season twice earlier than.

After the common season concluded, each the Mets and Richardson expressed mutual curiosity in persevering with their partnership; nevertheless, disagreements over his market worth in the end drove him to signal with the Braves.

“I was very interested in returning to the Mets, but during the negotiation process, we weren’t fully aligned on how we viewed my value,” Richardson instructed the Daily News. “I have great respect for their process and the conversations we had.

“Once I used to be allowed to converse with different groups, I remained open to a return to Queens till the top, whereas additionally specializing in discovering an alternative that was more in keeping with what I used to be on the lookout for.”

The core issue centered around compensation, with both parties unable to agree on a figure. Richardson reached out to the Mets one final time before signing his new deal, but New York couldn’t match the offer due to limitations on the number of coaches eligible for pension benefits.

“After connecting with a number of groups about completely different roles, starting from bench coach to first base coach, Atlanta proved to be the fitting match,” Richardson said. “I’m genuinely enthusiastic about this subsequent chapter in Atlanta and look ahead to contributing in a optimistic manner.”

Despite failing to reach terms, Richardson emphasized that no animosity exists between himself and the Mets. “I’ve nothing however love for my time in New York,” he said.

“Loads of relationships had been inbuilt New York that may stand the check of time and for that, I’ll be eternally grateful.”