Paul Articulates – Mets enhance coaching staff with purposeful changes

Several news outlets reported Monday that the Mets were making a number of changes to their coaching staff.  Although the team is yet to formally announce its 2023 coaching staff, the word is out that Eric Chavez will become the new bench coach under Buck Showalter. 

Jeremy Barnes will move up from assistant hitting coach to head hitting coach.   Last year’s bench coach Glenn Sherlock will take on a special assignment to enhance the catching position.

These changes to the coaching staff have been reported by some media “experts” as a “shake-up” and by others as logical promotions to avoid losing some coveted coaching talent.    

Only Steve Cohen and Billy Eppler know what really went on in the board room when this decision was made, so anything else you read is just speculation.  With that caveat, here is my speculation:

Glenn Sherlock:  Glenn has been a trusted advisor to Buck Showalter for a long time.  He has not lost favor, so his special assignment should not be looked upon as a negative.  Glenn has a great mastery of the game which has been developed through 25 years of coaching for the Yankees, Diamondbacks, Pirates, and Mets organizations.  Before his coaching career, Sherlock was a catcher in the Astros and Yankees’ systems.   

His special assignment emphasizes the significance of Francisco Alvarez to the organization.  Alvarez has impressed many on his way up through the minors with his hitting prowess.  He possesses a very quick bat with a short stroke that delivers enormous power.  At each level, it only took him a short time to learn the next level of pitching and contribute to the offense.  

His rise through the minors was only impeded by his defense behind the plate.  If you try to establish him as an everyday catcher without MLB caliber defensive skills, the opposition will take advantage, and the fan base that was pleading for him in the lineup would suddenly turn on him.  

The loss of fan support would impede confidence which would affect his hitting, and the prospect would be ruined.  Hence the decision to appoint your most trusted resource who knows the position to ensure Alvarez’ success.  Great move!

Eric Chavez: Eric did a tremendous job as the Mets’ hitting coach in 2022.  He turned around an underperforming group very quickly by using an optimized blend of analytics and old-school batting mechanics.  

He understood the fact that every player is different and focused on helping tune the individuals’ swing to their skill set.  That is an approach that not only works well with hitting, but also translates to other areas of baseball as well.  

Under Buck Showalter’s guidance, Chavez will undoubtedly develop into a top notch baseball coach.  As in any organization (baseball or industry), you promote those with high potential quickly to expand their span of control and enhance learning.

Jeremy Barnes: Jeremy has been with the Mets organization in a player development role, and in his position as assistant hitting coach last year, he impressed Eric and the rest of the Mets staff with his abilities.  

Word got around about his skill, so the promotion to head hitting coach made great sense to keep him tied to the Mets organization.  His close work with Eric Chavez last year gave him the tools to move seamlessly into this position, and I expect him to continue to advance the Mets’ hitting approach.

No other moves were announced, but I fully expect Jeremy Hefner to be back as pitching coach.  Under Hefner, the Mets staff did well and stayed as healthy as one can expect in the current game.  He will have his work cut out for him with all the turnover in both the starting rotation and bullpen due to free agency. 

I also expect the Mets’ base coaches to return.  Joey Cora and Wayne Kirby did a fantastic job last year.  In my opinion, the team ran the bases smarter and more aggressively last year than any time in recent memory.  

Between the improved hitting approach and the smart, aggressive base running, the Mets improved their scoring average last year by 21.4% from the prior season and went from 23rd to 5th in runs scored amongst MLB teams.

2023 should be a challenging year for the team, as they try to improve upon an excellent 101-win regular season with a deeper run into the playoffs.   

Personnel changes due to free agency heighten the challenge, but the returning Mets coaching staff with new assignments under the direction of the 2022 NL Manager of the Year Buck Showalter should be up to the challenge.  

I look forward to the upcoming year and to your comments on these staff upgrades.  Let’s go Mets!