After relieving manager Mickey Callaway of his duties on Thursday, setting off a chain reaction of rumors regarding who will take his place, the New York Mets are reportedly looking to retain a few prominent coaches from his staff.
According to Jon Heyman of MLB Network, “the Mets are believed to want hitting coach Chili Davis back”, adding, “pitching coach Phil Regan can likely stay if he wants to.”
Both coaches are not under contract for the 2020 season.
Davis, 59, took on a Mets squad that compiled a .234/.312/.389 slash line with 566 walks and 1,404 strikeouts in 2018 (94 wRC+, ninth in NL) with a well-publicized focus on improving the team’s situational hitting (.245/.346/.400 with RISP in 2018; .746 OPS was 22nd in MLB).
This season, the Mets hit .263/.352/.447 with runners in scoring position (.799 OPS, 13th in MLB) and their team-wide 104 wRC+ was good for second-best in the National League.
Regan, 82, took over as the Mets’ pitching coach when Dave Eiland was fired on June 20. At the time, the pitching staff as a whole had a 4.74 ERA, third-worst in the NL (4.38 starter ERA, ninth in NL; 5.37 bullpen ERA; 14th).
From June 21 through the end of the season, the Mets led the NL with 13.4 wins above replacement (FanGraphs) and owned the third-best staff ERA in the league at 3.84 (3.40 starter ERA, third in NL; 4.65 bullpen ERA, 10th).
We’ll keep you posted as new information becomes available.
