During his press conference at the Winter Meetings Tuesday night in San Diego, Mets pitching coach Jeremy Hefner asserted confidence with the team’s pitching staff going into the 2020 season, calling the current group “solid.” He even named Marcus Stroman and Noah Syndergaard as Cy Young Award-caliber pitchers who, with some tweaks, could “easily” accomplish the feat.
“They’ve been dominant at certain points of their careers,” said Hefner. “I just look forward to working with them.”
In regards to Edwin Diaz, who had a lackluster 2019 season, Hefner plans to examine his release points, the break on his slider, among other factors, in the offseason.
In his first week on the job, Hefner sat down with those who have worked directly with Diaz, like bullpen coach Ricky Bones, to identify areas of improvement and strategies they implemented during the 2019 season.
Hefner feels a big emphasis of his work as pitching coach will be on establishing relationships, relating to players, and employing his previous experiences as a pitcher. Having played in New York himself in 2012, Hefner said he hopes to create a dynamic where players are part of the process and working together to achieve goals.
“It’s all about relationships, and it’s still about relationships, and it will always be about relationships and how you can relate to the players,” said Hefner.
Hefner, who was a former assistant pitching coach for the Minnesota Twins, said his previous title helped him learn throwing mechanics and the movement side of things, which he intends to apply to the Mets pitching staff in 2020 and hopefully beyond.
“I couldn’t be more excited and more thrilled to walk into an opportunity with the types of people and the types of pitchers that the Mets currently have on their roster,” said Hefner.
