Mets to hire Jeremy Hefner as pitching coach

One day after hiring Hensley “Bam Bam” Meulens as their bench coach, the New York Mets are prepared to bring Jeremy Hefner aboard to serve as Carlos Beltran’s pitching coach. With the Hefner hire, the team has filled their three biggest coaching vacancies, which includes their decision to retain hitting coach Chili Davis.

Hefner spent his brief two-year major league career with the Mets before injuries derailed him and forced him into early retirement. The 33-year-old right-hander posted a career 4.65 ERA, 4.14 FIP, and 1.32 WHIP with a 6.5 K/9, a 2.2 BB/9, and a -1.3 bWAR in 224.1 innings, which included 36 starts. He underwent Tommy John Surgery in 2013 and then again just fourteen months later, which effectively ended his professional pitching career.

Following his playing days, Hefner joined the Minnesota Twins organization. He began as an advance scout in 2017 and 2018 before moving up to assistant pitching coach last season. The team first met with Hefner at the GM Meetings earlier this month, and he quickly became a top candidate for the position. The team had also interviewed Gil Patterson, Chris Fetter, and Steve Karsay to replace Phil Regan, who served as interim pitching coach last season after the team fired Dave Eiland in June.