For the fourth time in four years, the New York Mets will be hiring a new bench coach.

As reported by Bob Nightengale of USA Today Sports, the Mets “informed veteran bench coach Hensley Meulens he won’t be back on their staff for 2021″.

Meulens, 53, was brought on board by New York last December to head up newly-hired manager Carlos Beltran‘s staff after spending 10 seasons as the San Francisco Giants’ hitting coach, winning three World Series over that span.

Following the Curacao native’s time as a player (1989 to 1998, spent 1994 to 1996 in Japan; .220/.288/.353, 77 OPS+ in MLB), Meulens embarked on his coaching career, bouncing between minor league affiliates of Toronto and Pittsburgh before landing in San Francisco.

Mets skipper Luis Rojas, hired after Beltran’s dismissal following the fallout of his involvement in Houston’s sign-stealing scandal with a full coaching staff already in place, now has the luxury of choosing his own bench coach.

Speculation as to whom the second-year manager may bring in to fill the vacancy is expected to be wide. Former Mets star and minor-league manager Edgardo Alfonzo has been mentioned by fans on social media as a potential target — with just cause.

After leading the Short Season-A Brooklyn Cyclones to the 2019 New York-Penn League title in September 2019, the Mets dismissed Alfonzo in October of that year, informing him his contract would not be renewed.

A fan favorite with decades of professional baseball experience, Fonzie would seem like an ideal fit, but your guess is as good as ours at this point.

We’ll keep you posted with new information as it becomes available.

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Only 12 days until pitchers and catchers report!

Latest Mets News 

The Mets announced that Jon Matlack, Ron Darling, Edgardo Alfonzo, and Al Jackson will be inducted into the Mets Hall of Fame. Matlack, Darling, and “Fonzie” will be inducted on May 17 while Jackson will receive his Hall of Fame award posthumously.

Ronny Mauricio was among the quintet of Mets prospects who were commended by the Mets organization for receiving their high school diplomas.

Four Mets prospects appeared on Baseball America‘s list of the 2019’s top 100 international signees.

A source told Chris Cotillo of MassLive.com that the Red Sox have not spoken with Mets bench coach Hensley Meulens about their managerial opening.

Latest MLB News 

Jeremy Jeffress and the Chicago Cubs agreed to a one-year deal of the major-league variety. The base pay is $850,000 dollars with up to $200,000 in incentives, per Jeff Passan of ESPN.

Southpaw Wade LeBlanc is headed to Baltimore for the 2020 season. Although he signed a minor-league deal, he’s expected to appear in the O’s rotation. Passan also had this one first.

According to Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic, Yolmer Sanchez inked a minor-league pact with the Giants.

The Yankees signed former Met knuckleball-catcher Josh Thole to a minor-league contract.

Rosenthal also tweeted out that Mitch Moreland resigned with the Red Sox. He’ll earn three million dollars in 2020 with a club option worth three million for the 2021 campaign.

Greg Holland and the Royals have come to terms on a minor-league deal, per Mark Feinsand of MLB.com. Holland was a mainstay in Kansas City’s bullpen from the 2011 to 2015 seasons, racking up 145 saves. With two more saves, he’ll pass Rafael Soriano for the 47th on the all-time saves list.

Eugenio Suarez underwent surgery to fix some loose cartilage from his right shoulder and will miss most of Spring Training. Suarez injured the shoulder while swimming in a pool.

Latest NL East News 

The Nationals signed speedster Emilio Bonifacio to a minor-league deal.

Latest on MMO

Michael Mayer interviewed prospect Patrick Mazeika.

Lindsay Moran wondered if the Mets made the right move in not trading for Starling Marte.

Eric Belyea found some free agents that could be a fit for the Mets.

On This Date In Mets History

Birthdays: Kevin Roberson (53), Sergio Ferrer (70)

Let’s go, Mets!

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New York Mets bench coach Hensley Meulens is likely more valuable to this organization now than when he was hired as Carlos Beltran‘s bench coach earlier in the offseason.

With another first-time manager in Luis Rojas, named Mets skipper last week, now at the helm, Meulens, 52, and the decade of major league coaching experience he brings along makes him an ideal candidate to sit-in as Rojas’ right-hand man.

Shortly after the Red Sox and former manager Alex Cora parted ways, Jon Heyman of MLB Network reported the Boston’s interest in Meulens — who spent the last ten seasons on Bruce Bochy‘s staff in San Francisco, winning three World Series during his tenure (2010, 2012, 2014) — as his potential replacement.

On January 22, Chris Cotillo of MassLive.com reported that the Sox had not requested permission to speak with Meulens. On Tuesday, Cotillo confirmed through sources that Boston had “not yet spoken with” Meulens regarding the still-vacant position.

Mark Feinsand of MLB.com noted on Monday that the Sox were “unlikely to make a hire before next week”, likely meaning Boston is still deliberating candidates internally.

We’ll keep you posted as new information becomes available.

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Tim Healey of Newsday reports that the New York Mets will hire Luis Rojas as their next manager and that the team is currently trying to reach a multi-year deal with him.

Rojas will be replacing Carlos Beltran, who the team recently parted ways with after his name was mentioned in MLB’s report on the Astros’ sign-stealing scandal.

Joel Sherman of the New York Post adds that the Mets will be keeping the rest of the coaching staff intact under Rojas.

Bench coach Hensley Meulens was the one they likely feared losing, but the Mets said that the Boston Red Sox haven’t requested permission to interview Meulens for their own managerial vacancy despite rumors they had an interest in doing so.

The 38-year-old is the brother of former-Met Moises Alou and has served as the team’s quality-control coach since the start of last season. He has also managed Low-A Savannah (2012-2014), High-A St.Lucie (2015), and Double-A Binghamton (2017-2018).

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The Mets managerial search will likely remain internal, a decision that is now down to Luis Rojas, Hensley Meulens, and Tony DeFrancesco, according to Andy Martino on Tuesday night. With the search down to the wire, and one that will likely aim to conclude before spring training, the team will have to decide who will replace Carlos Beltran in the wake of his departure on Thursday.

Luis Rojas, a fan favorite among potential candidates, was interviewed for the position when it first became available in 2019. Rojas has been with the organization for 14 seasons at the minor league level and spent the 2019 season on the major league coaching staff as a quality-control coach. The 38-year-old has management experience, but whether he can rise to the occasion of managing the team in the eyes of Brodie Van Wagenen is still up in the air.

As of Monday, Hensley Meulens reportedly earned himself a spot on the Red Sox’s radar as a potential manager, in light of a vacancy made by Alex Cora amid the Astros’ sign-stealing scandal. Meulens has been a minor and major league coach for two decades, but has no management experience, making the 52-year-old a similar choice for the team, as Beltran was also set to be a rookie manager.

Jacob Resnick/MetsMerized

Tony DeFrancesco earned himself a spot as the Mets’ first base coach for the 2020 season, after a two-year stint as Triple-A manager of the Syracuse Mets. He also interviewed for the job previously, before it ultimately went to Beltran. DeFrancesco, who has 26 years of coaching experience, is well-liked among the organization.

With just a few weeks until spring training, the Mets will need to come to a decision swiftly. With internal interviews underway soon, it is the hope that the team will be able to reach a quick and well-suited decision.

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With Mets brass deciding to “mutually part ways” with manager Carlos Beltran with just about a month before pitchers and catchers report to Port Saint Lucie, the Mets must fill this spot, and fill it rather quickly.

Names have been thrown around such as Eduardo Perez and Dusty Baker, but it may be the easiest route for general manager Brodie Van Wagenen and company to go the route of making an in-house candidate the manager, even if it is just for one season.

Both Luis Rojas and Hensley Meulens are solid candidates. Meulens is a coach coming from San Francisco under Bruce Bochy‘s wing, where he won three World Series titles. The former Giants hitting coach also speaks seven languages and does have managerial experience, where he managed the Netherlands, coaching players such as Xander Bogaerts, Didi Gregorius, Jurickson Profar, and Andrelton Simmons.

Rojas has been with the Mets since 2007, coaching at seven different levels in the Mets farm system, managing at four of them. The majority of the current roster in Queens has played under Rojas at one point or another. Rojas is also the son of Felipe Alou, and brother of Moises Alou, the latter of which wore orange and blue in 2007-08.

According to Jon Heyman of MLB Network, the Mets have not reached out to either John Gibbons or Buck Showalter, who along with Baker, are options for the Astros managerial vacancy. Baker himself even mentioned that he has not heard from the Mets. It seems as if the more veteran candidates may not be of interest for the vacancy in Queens.

With that being said and looking past the 2020 season, the Mets front office could be looking for another manager. It may be a sore subject right now, but AJ Hinch‘s suspension will be over after the upcoming season, and could be a prime candidate for the Mets job.

Van Wagenen is known for bringing in his own guys, as we’ve seen. Jed Lowrie, Rick Porcello and Michael Wacha are among the names of former clients of Van Wagenen, all who are current members of the active roster. What would make the managerial spot any different?

It is easier said than done, and hiring Hinch would make Van Wagenen and company look like a group of hypocrites due to the departure of Beltran. But as we’ve seen in Van Wagenen’s brief tenure in Queens, he is not afraid to bring in some of his own guys.

Of course, this is looking far in advance. The 2020 manager should get every chance to succeed, but with just a couple weeks until pitchers and catchers, the Mets might have to appoint a short term manager. If they do well, they could see themselves returning for 2021 and beyond, but if not, the Mets could go back to square one and conduct another search next year for a long term guy.

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This was a historically strange week for the New York Mets. Relieving manager Carlos Beltran of his duties  — whether it was necessary or not, which is inconsequential at this point — for his role in the Houston Astros’ sign-stealing scandal leaves New York in a precarious position with less than a month out from pitchers and catchers reporting to Port St. Lucie.

As complicated as this situation is — for the entire league, not just in Flushing — and as likely as it is to continue unfolding, the Mets have too much on their plate right now to look back and wonder. If they want to put themselves in an optimal position to succeed in 2020, this organization needs to turn the page and begin to move forward.

With an unexpected vacancy in the first seat on the bench, in addition to all remaining unfinished offseason business, Mets general manager Brodie Van Wagenen and team officials have to keep their eye on the ball and get to work. And the first item on the docket is naming one of the qualified candidates already within the organization to replace Beltran.

Whether that be current quality control coach Luis Rojas, who has over a decade in the organization under his belt, newly-hired bench coach and a longtime mainstay on Bruce Bochy‘s staff in San Francisco, Hensley Meulens, or first-base coach Tony DeFrancesco, who managed the Mets’ Triple-A squads the past two seasons, hiring in-house and eliminating the lag-time of a new hire getting acclimated to this roster would be prudent, considering the timeframe.

Though, whoever the team lands on — even if they choose to go the route of a more experienced skipper taking the reins, such as Dusty Baker, Buck Showalter, or John Gibbons, as odd a decision that may hypothetically be considering this team’s push towards a more analytically-based era in recent years — in all honesty, is background noise at this point.

Making sure that this roster is adequately prepared for what, on paper, is shaping up to be an exciting season in the NL East should be at the top of Van Wagenen’s to-do list.

We’ve seen the Mets add Dellin Betances, Brad Brach, and — in all likelihood, in some capacity — Michael Wacha to an already talented bullpen, but another quality reinforcement would eliminate another of those all-too-important ifs Van Wagenen seems to despise so much.

Adding former Astros (and Mets) right-hander Collin McHugh (4.70 ERA, 82 K, 30 BB, 1.23 WHIP, 74.2 IP, .174/.278/.371 slash line against versus lefties last season) would help that cause considerably. Per Baseball Savant, McHugh’s spin rate on his curve (88th percentile) and fastball (77th percentile) are above-average, as is his hard-hit rate (29.9 percent; 92nd percentile).

Those types of metrics combined with the ability to throw six pitches for strikes (four-seam, slider, cutter, curve, change, seldom-used sinker) are appealing. If the price tag is agreeable, the Mets should definitely be in on McHugh.

Former Braves righty Arodys Vizcaino — traded to the Mariners in the Anthony Swarzak deal (he’s also available, for what it’s worth) after undergoing season-ending shoulder surgery — would be an interesting buy-low candidate (.213/.334/.338 slash line against versus lefties) if the team is so inclined to take a chance on the 29-year-old.

According to Pete Abraham of the Boston Globe, veteran backstop and framing extraordinaire (95th percentile last season, per Statcast) Russell Martin hopes to latch on somewhere and is happy to assume a backup role. The soon-to-be 37-year-old brings leadership to a young-ish team and defensive excellence behind the plate.

The Mets should be exploring this option in earnest — he’d likely cost much less than Austin Hedges would in a trade with San Diego and fits New York’s needs to a tee.

And, of course, Starling Marte is still lingering out there on the trade market. Whether Pittsburgh GM Ben Cherington is still dead-set on dealing the 31-year-old All-Star is debatable. But if the price is right (read: J.D. Davis and/or Brandon Nimmo are off the table), oh, what an addition that would be.

As you can see, for the tenants of the penthouse offices at 41 Seaver Way in Flushing all the way down to the guys in the clubhouse, there’s more important, pressing matters to address than what transpired this week. In a little over two months and counting, there’s a season to play. Let’s focus on the present and the future, not the past.

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Although there are three viable in-house candidates to replace Carlos Beltran as the manager of the New York Mets, it is baseball analyst Eduardo Perez who is the current favorite to land the job according to BetOnline.ag.

Although the odds are in flux, as of 3:00 PM on Friday, Perez was listed as +300 to become the Mets 22nd manager. Perez has been broadcasting on ESPN and later Sirius XM since 2014. He served as the Houston Astros bench coach under manager Bo Porter during the 2013 season. In 2014 he was named the Astros first base coach, but he resigned that position in early January 2014 to spend more time with family.

Right behind Perez is Luis Rojas who was +400 a little over an hour ago but has moved to +325 as of this writing. The Mets quality control coach interviewed for the managerial opening this off-season before returning to his present role. Rojas has been with the team in one capacity or another since 2007 and has lately garnered a lot attention as an obvious candidate. He was a finalist for the managerial job in the last go around but lost out in the end to Beltran.

Close behind the top two is Mets bench coach Hensley Meulens at +350. Meulens was not asked to interview for the position when Mickey Callaway was fired, but has a strong pedigree having been a coach under Bruce Bochy in San Francisco. Meulens was in the Bay Area for all three of the Giants’ World Championships in the 2010s. He is also been named as a possible replacement for Alex Cora and the Boston Red Sox and is currently at +600 to nab that job.

Washington Nationals first base coach Tim Bogar is next at +400. He supposedly made a strong impression on Brodie Van Wagenen in his prior interview with the Mets. It probably doesn’t hurt that he has a shiny World Series ring awaiting him when the season starts.

The third internal candidate, coming in at +700 is Tony DeFrancesco. The new Mets first base coach had been the manager of New York’s Triple-A affiliates since 2018. DeFrancesco certainly brings a strong knowledge of the Mets roster to the table which could add to his candidacy.

Others receiving some wagering interest are: Terry Collins at +700, Bruce Bochy, Buck Showalter and Dusty Baker each at +900, John Gibbons at +1000 and Kevin Long at +1200.

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After days of publically-silent deliberation, the New York Mets officially cut ties with their newly-hired manager and former Mets standout, Carlos Beltran on Thursday.

Beltran, 42, was implicated in Major League Baseball’s report on the Houston Astros sign-stealing operation in 2017, resulting the suspension and eventual dismissal of Astros general manager Jeff Luhnow and manager AJ Hinch, as well as former Astros bench coach and now-former Boston Red Sox manager Alex Cora, who relinquished his post on Tuesday.

Reports on Wednesday had the Mets “wavering” on keeping Beltran (Buster Olney, ESPN). Rumblings of an announcement or statement from the team later that evening never came to fruition, but with Mets COO Jeff Wilpon scheduled to meet with the media on Thursday at 11:30 in Port St. Lucie (Mets great and Hall of Famer Mike Piazza was honored), it became clear a resolution would follow shortly thereafter.

That resolution came with force, and now the Mets are tasked with finding a suitable replacement for Beltran with just weeks until Spring Training kicks off.

Within Beltran’s staff lies three viable candidates to assume his duties in former San Francisco Giants coach and current Mets bench coach Hensley Meulens, New York’s quality control coach and longtime organizational mainstay, Luis Rojas, and first-base coach Tony DeFrancesco.

Meulens, 52, was on Bruce Bochy‘s staff (first as hitting coach, then bench coach) in San Francisco for all three of the Giants’ World Series victories in the 2010s (2010, 2012, 2014; employed by the club from 2010 to 2019) and also managed the Netherlands in the 2013 and 2017 World Baseball Classics.

Having learned from one of this era’s best skippers and with a track record to back it up, Meulens would immediately command respect in the clubhouse and brings a level of experience that a shotgun, January managerial search normally wouldn’t produce.

And, since his name has been floated as a potential replacement for Cora in Boston, if the Mets are looking to move on from Beltran and have interest in Meulens, they’d better act quickly on all fronts.

Rojas, 38, has been with the Mets since 2007 and has coached or managed at every level of the organization short of Triple-A. He knows this team and this system well and the feeling is presumably mutual. With Meulens (hopefully) at his side, he’d have a go-to resource if need be.

DeFrancesco, manager of New York’s Triple-A affiliates since 2018 (Las Vegas then Syracuse) and now entering his first season on the Mets’ staff, could also fit that bill. Familiarity with this roster can not be discounted when attempting to fill such an important position with such little time, and DeFrancesco brings plenty of that to the table.

Dusty Baker or Buck Showalter would bring credibility and oodles of experience, but are they the right guys for this job? The Mets’ recent commitment to advanced analytics suggests a hire within the same vein, as Beltran and pitching coach Jeremy Hefner were.

Eduardo Perez and Tim Bogar both advanced into the final rounds of interviews with the Mets in October, indicating at least some level of interest on both sides, but both would need to play catch-up on an entire offseason’s worth of lost time trying to learn a new roster. Either would be solid choices, but in a situation like this, the Mets need to play it safe.

Rojas knows this team in and out, spent last year as an informational conduit for the Mets passing along data from the analytics department to the coaching staff and players, and was gearing up for his second season in that position.

Eliminating the middle man in that equation would certainly streamline things. And with a coaching staff constructed for a first-time manager around him, a solid support system is already in place.

The Mets have limited time to make a fairly huge decision. What could go wrong?

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Hired/Returning

Manager: Carlos Beltran

Beltran is the set to be the leader of the Mets in 2020. This will be his first coaching role of any kind, however, don’t underestimate him. Beltran has a long history as a clubhouse leader from his playing days and spent the last two years in a front office role with the Yankees.

He spent that time learning about analytics and how to communicate as a boss rather than a peer. Beltran’s communication skills are hailed as his best skill and should help him win over the clubhouse fairly quickly. Getting the players to buy into his and the coaching staff’s vision is a huge early challenge for Beltran, but he should be up to the task.

It’s still unknown how Beltran will handle the in-game tactics that come with a manager, but if the impressive baseball IQ he displayed as a player is any indication then he’ll excel in that role.

Hitting Coach: Chili Davis

Davis is set to return to the coaching staff after helping turn the Mets’ offense around in 2019. The team improved across the board offensively from 2018 to 2019 and Chili Davis was a part of that. The team in general had better situational hitting. There is a question of how much Davis really contributed to that compared to the improved personal.

Whatever the case Davis is returning to the Mets in 2020 after signing a two-year deal this offseason. He will bring with him his old-school approach to hitting that seemed to resonate with the team. He is the only coach on the staff known to stand by his old-school tactics and show a particular dislike of the new-school analytics.

Pitching Coach: Jeremy Hefner

Former Mets’ starting pitcher Jeremy Hefner is set to return to the team in 2020, this time as the pitching coach. Hefner is an incredibly young coach at just 33 years old, he has only two years of coaching and front office work under his belt. He was an advance scout with the Twins in 2018 and the Twins assistant pitching coach in 2019.

Hefner is seen  as one of the most advanced analytic pitching coaches in MLB. He has dedicated his post-playing career to learning about analytics and how to implement them. Adding him to the Mets staff should be seen as a boon for the pitchers. He will bring an analytic side to them that they haven’t previously had under their previous coaches. Though Phil Regan is a more  analytically driven coach then his age suggests.

Bench Coach: Hensley Meulens

Hensley Meulens is yet another new face joining the Mets 2020 coaching staff. He has a decade of major league coaching experience behind him with the San Francisco Giants. He was their hitting coach from 2010-2017 and their bench coach from 2018-2019. He worked with Beltran in 2011 after the Mets traded him to the Giants.

Meulens is well known for his communication ability. He is the only coach in MLB who can speak five languages English, Spanish, Japanese, Dutch, and Papiamento. He should be able to help Beltran communicate with his players early and often.

He also has some managerial experience having made the Netherlands in the World Baseball Classic in 2013 and 2017. He should be able to bring some of that experience with him to help Beltran with in-game decisions.

Unknown Role: Gary DiSarcina

DiSarcina is set to return to the coaching staff in 2020, but his role is still unknown. DiSarcina has been a major league coach since 2017 having held various roles. He’s been a a third base coach, first base coach, and a bench coach. He was the Mets’ third base coach in 2019.

DiSarcina was once seen as a future major league manager. He has interviewed for multiple manager jobs over the years. With DiSarcina at third base in 2019, the Mets’ overall base running grade took a huge hit dropping from 2.6 to -17. Ranking wise the Mets dropped from 14th to 29th.

It’ll be interesting to see if DiSarcina will keep his base coach job in 2020 despite this steep drop in base running.

Expected to return, but not confirmed

Luis Rojas

Luis Rojas was the Mets’ quality control coach in 2019. He was in charge of relaying information from the front office to the players. He was often in charge of relaying analytic information to the players and turning it into easily digestible information.

He was good at his job and has a connection with many of his players. Robinson Cano openly campaigned for Luis Rojas to get the Mets’ manager job. He has also managed half of the current roster during their minor league careers.

He seems to be in-line for a promotion this season, but it’s not yet known if he is returning or what his role would be if he did.

Jeremy Accardo

Accardo has been with the Mets’ organization since 2017 when he was hired as the Gulf Coast Mets’ pitching coach. He was promoted in 2018 to the bullpen coach of the Las Vegas 51s. Last year he made his way to the major league coaching staff as the team’s pitching strategist.

His job was to work with the pitching staff to build strategies for how to attack opponents. When Accardo got the job mid-season the pitching staff saw a turn around after a rough beginning to the season.

It’s not known yet whether or not Accardo will return to the team in 2020 or what role he would have if he did.

Ricky Bones

Ricky Bones has been the Mets’ bullpen coach for a long time. He took over the job in 2012 and kept it until 2019. He was replaced by Chuck Hernandez who was fired in June, and Ricky Bones returned to the role. It’s not known whether or not Bones will return to the team for 2020.

Role needed to be filled

Base Coaches

The Mets need to figure out who their base coaches are going to be for the 2020 season. There are a few members of the coaching staff who fit this role. Namely, Luis Rojas and Gary DiSarcina.It’s likely that at this late stage of the season the Mets will fill these roles internally. If they do go out of the franchise to make a hire expect it to be a former catcher who takes the role, so he can also double as the catching coach.

Catching Coach

The Mets are in need of a catching coach. The role was held by Glenn Sherlock last season, but he will not be returning to the team in 2020. One name to look at is former Met Brian Schneider. Schneider was the Marlins catching coordinator from 2015-2019. Schneider has connections to the Mets franchise, Carlos Beltran, and Omar Minaya.

Considering how heavy an emphasis the Mets have seemed to put on prior relationships with the organization in coaching hires this offseason Schneider makes a lot of sense.

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