In his Wednesday afternoon press conference, Mets manager Luis Rojas confirmed Jeremy Hefner would return as pitching coach.
Hefner’s first year with the Mets staff was mired with a shortened season and a ramp-up-then-down-then-up-again period while Major League Baseball figured out what to do with COVID-19.
The pitching staff ultimately produced an 89 ERA+, which is 11 percent worse than league average and worst in the National League, along with a league-average 4.46 FIP. There were pitchers like Edwin Diaz who markedly improved under Hefner, but there were also plenty who struggled last year (Steven Matz, Seth Lugo), so Hefner will hopefully have as close to a full season as possible to work with these guys to right the ship.
Rojas also said he “expects” that Chili Davis will return as hitting coach, though that is not confirmed. Davis opted to coach the team virtually during the 2020 season due COVID-19 concerns. Davis’ availability for the 2021 season will likely hinge on how COVID is handled for the upcoming season.
Despite coaching virtually, the Mets offense was one of the best in the major leagues last year, producing a 122 OPS+ and 4.77 runs per game. Although, there were players–J.D. Davis in particular–who noted not having Davis there in person at-bat-by-at-bat was a difficult adjustment in the 2020 season.
Still, outside of Hefner and new bench coach Dave Jauss, the remainder of the Mets coaching staff has yet to be confirmed.
