Phil Regan hired as pitching coach, Ricky Bones returns as bullpen coach

After announcing the firings of pitching coach Dave Eiland and bullpen coach Chuck Hernandez, the Mets did not take long to reportedly announce their replacements. Phil Regan, who has served as a roving pitching coach for the organization, has been brought on as the new pitching coach. The bullpen coach job, meanwhile, will once again belong to Ricky Bones, who served in the position for seven seasons.

The 82-year-old Regan, whose nickname is “the Vulture,” had a fairly lengthy coaching and scouting career after his playing career ended in the early 70s. He served as the pitching coach for the St. Lucie Mets from 2009-2015, and he recently stepped in to help the Syracuse Mets after pitching coach Glenn Abbott was forced to take a leave of absence for medical reasons. Bones, meanwhile, joined the major league team in 2012 after serving as a pitching coach in the minor league system prior to that. He was reassigned in the organization after 2018, becoming the pitching coach for St. Lucie. He now returns to the same role that he occupied less than a year ago.

The two will be turned to to help turn around a pitching staff that has struggled mightily in 2019. It remains to be seen how long the two will serve in the roles, though given the likelihood that manager Mickey Callaway may end up losing his job by the end of the season, it’s possible that they will only be temporary replacements.

General Manager Brodie Van Wagenen is set to address the media before tonight’s game at Wrigley Field.