The New York Mets have reportedly hired Jeremy Hefner to be their new pitching coach ahead of the 2020 season.
A day after hiring Hensley Meulens to be their new bench coach, the New York Mets have filled another position inside the dugout.
On Tuesday, Jon Heyman of MLB Network reported that the Mets have hired Jeremy Hefner to take on the duties as their new pitching coach. Hefner will now begin his tenure as the first coach of that type under the new Carlos Beltrán regime.
The Mets most recently employed Phil Regan in that role. Regan took over for Dave Eiland, who the organization parted ways with this past June.
Jeremy Hefner is the Mets choice to be their new pitching coach
— Jon Heyman (@JonHeyman) November 26, 2019
Hefner played in the major leagues from 2012-13, portraying his talents for the Mets across both seasons. In 50 games (36 starts), Hefner combined for a record of 8-15 with an ERA of 4.65 and a WHIP of 1.324. He struck out 161 batters and walked 55 through 224.1 innings pitched.
He then underwent Tommy John surgery in 2014 and spent time in the St. Louis Cardinals minor league system thereafter. Hefner announced his retirement from baseball in January of 2017.
After calling it quits, Hefner worked as a scout and then as an assistant pitching coach for the Minnesota Twins. He served time in the latter role this past season.
Hefner will now come into an organization and work with a starting rotation that has a ton of talent in two-time National League Cy Young Award winner Jacob deGrom, Marcus Stroman, and Noah Syndergaard. He’ll also look to improve a bullpen that finished 25th in the majors last year with a combined 4.95 ERA.