Mets hire Jeremy Hefner as pitching coach
Nov 27, 2019 | 11:16AM
Hefner had been working as the assistant pitching coach for the Twins
By Danny Abriano | Nov 27, 2019 | 11:16AM
Jeremy Hefner took the mound for the first game of the four-game series against the Marlins. Hefner exited after 5 1/3 innings, giving up five runs (three earned) on four hits. (AP)
The Mets and Jeremy Hefner are in agreement on terms for him to become pitching coach, reports SNY's Andy Martino.
Jon Heyman of the MLB Network reported on Tuesday that Hefner was the choice.
Hefner, who worked this past season as the assistant pitching coach for the Twins, was hired by Minnesota as a scout after the 2017 season shortly after his pitching career ended.
Martino reported on Monday night that Hefner was a "very strong candidate" to land the Mets' gig while also reporting that Gil Patterson was out of the running.
Aside from Hefner and Patterson, the Mets interviewed "rising star" Chris Fetter, who has been working as a pitching coach for the University of Michigan since 2018. They were also linked to Steve Karsay, who was the Brewers' bullpen coach this past season.
The 82-year-old Phil Regan served as the Mets' interim pitching coach in 2019 after the firing of Dave Eiland in June, and it is possible that Regan -- who has been working for the Mets since 2009 -- will remain in the organization in a different capacity.
Hefner played for the Mets from 2012-13, but his major league career was derailed due to a pair of Tommy John surgeries -- in 2013 and 2014.
"Hef is among the first wave of players who finished their careers and are really comfortable with this data," Twins baseball operations director Daniel Adler told The Athletic's Dan Hayes last season. "Those guys are going to be better ambassadors for this stuff than we can ever be. There's always going to be something helpful about a person who played to make our research better and communicating to others who may be more skeptical."
With the hiring of Hefner, manager Carlos Beltran's staff is starting to come together. Hensley Meulens is expected to become the bench coach, and Chili Davis recently agreed to an extension to remain the hitting coach.
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