Updated Post, 11/21/23
Willie Randolph won’t be the Mets’ bench coach, according to Newsday‘s Anthony Rieber.
Phil Nevin has been a name tossed around for the position.
Original Post, 11/15/23
When Carlos Mendoza was introduced to the New York Mets fans on Tuesday at Citi Field, one of the people he acknowledged for getting him to this point was former Mets manager Willie Randolph. Mendoza said that Randolph has been a key influence on his coaching career and that he talked to Willie before accepting the Mets managerial position.
“This is somebody that I have a lot of respect for,” Mendoza said. “We have a really good relationship and I consider him not only a mentor but as a friend. And like I said, I mean, there’s a bunch of names that we’re considering right now. And, you know, we’ll see where it goes.”
Randolph was the Mets manager from 2005 until he was fired during the season in 2008. Since then, Randolph has coached in the Brewers and Orioles organizations. More recently, he has coached and managed for Team USA in the WBC and the WBSC Premier12 tournaments. He was the third base coach for Team USA when they won the 2017 World Baseball Classic.
Randolph, a coach for over a decade in the Yankees organization, returns frequently in the spring, including this earlier year as he worked on defense with 2023 Gold Glove winner Anthony Volpe. The former Mets and Yankees infielder didn’t shut down the idea of returning to the Mets as a coach when asked by the New York Post.
“All I said [to Mendoza] was to do whatever you need to do, get your family to New York, get yourself comfortable and know in the back of your mind if you need me, I’m here for you. I am a Carlos Mendoza fan,” Randolph said.
The only parts we do know about the Mets coaching staff is that Jeremy Hefner will return as the pitching coach and Joey Cora is now the third base coach of the Detroit Tigers. Stearns and Mendoza are going to work together to fill out the rest of the coaching staff. “It’s a collaborative process,” Stearns said. “And I think that’s the way it should be. So, Carlos does and will have a huge voice in it. I’m going to offer my opinions as well.”
