The first two pieces of the Mets’ coaching staff makeover have clicked into place.
The Mets have promoted Jeff Albert to run their hitting program, multiple sources told MLB.com on Tuesday, putting him in charge of what they hope can be one of the league’s top offenses. The team, which has not confirmed the move, still intends to hire at least one hitting coach to serve under Albert.
In addition, the Mets have hired Kai Correa to serve as their bench coach under manager Carlos Mendoza, according to sources.
Shortly after the season ended, the Mets announced they would part ways with Eric Chavez and Jeremy Barnes, who led the club’s hitting program in various capacities from 2022-25, along with bench coach John Gibbons and several others.
Albert, 44, has spent the past three seasons as the Mets’ director of hitting development, after serving as the Cardinals’ hitting coach for four seasons. His resume also includes several years working in the Cardinals’ and Astros’ organizations, with one year on Houston’s big league staff. In addition, he has served as a hitting coach in the Colombian and Dominican Winter Leagues.
Although Albert’s title will not technically be hitting coach, he will be in uniform on the Major League bench. His goal will be to improve an offense that finished tied for ninth in the Majors in runs per game despite the presence of star hitters Juan Soto, Francisco Lindor, Pete Alonso and Brandon Nimmo. In particular, the Mets struggled with their situational hitting early in the season, ranking 27th in the Majors in batting average with runners in scoring position prior to the All-Star break (though they did largely rectify those issues after the break).
Correa, 36, first appeared on a Major League coaching staff as a 31-year-old under Gabe Kapler in San Francisco in 2020. Three years later, he briefly served as interim manager after the Giants fired Kapler. The Hawaii native never played professionally, but he boasts a decade and a half of coaching experience in the professional and collegiate ranks.
Correa’s resume is entirely different from that of Gibbons, who came to the Mets with significant managerial experience. At the time, however, Mendoza was a rookie manager; he now has two full seasons of experience.
The Mets intend to take longer in their search for someone to replace departed pitching coach Jeremy Hefner, according to a source. That hire could come from outside the organization.
In addition to Chavez, Barnes, Gibbons and Hefner, the Mets will need to replace third-base coach Mike Sarbaugh and catching instructor Glenn Sherlock this offseason.
