Press Release: Syracuse Mets Announce 2022 Coaching Staff

Manager Kevin Boles joins returning Hitting Coach Joel Chimelis and  

Pitching Coach Steve Schrenk to lead Syracuse in 2022 

 

SYRACUSE, NY – The 2022 Syracuse Mets coaching staff has been announced and features three returning staff members and five new ones. Manager Kevin Boles will lead Syracuse for the first time, while Hitting Coach Joel Chimelis is returning to Syracuse for his third season and Pitching Coach Steve Schrenk returns for his second year. Bench Coach Jay Pecci and Development Coach Chris Jacobs will enter their first year with Syracuse. Meanwhile, Athletic Trainer Hiroto Kawamura is back for a second season and will be joined by Athletic Trainer Anthony Olivieri in his first season with Syracuse. Performance Coach Alex Tavarez rounds out the 2022 coaching staff and will also be in his first year with Syracuse.   

Manager Kevin Boles brings 19 years of managerial experience to Syracuse as he begins his first year in Syracuse and his third in the New York Mets organization. Boles joined the Mets in 2019 as Double-A Binghamton’s manager. He also managed the team’s Alternate Training Site in Brooklyn in 2020 and was New York’s minor league field coordinator in 2020 and 2021. Boles previously managed in the Red Sox organization with Triple-A Pawtucket from 2014-2018, Double-A Portland from 2011-2013, Advanced-A Salem in 2010, and Low-A Greenville from 2008-2009. Boles also managed in the minors with the Minnesota Twins organization for four seasons, managing Advanced-A Fort Myers in 2006 and 2007, Low-A Beloit in 2005, and Low-A Quad Cities in 2004. Boles managed the Rookie-Level Arizona League Royals 2 team in 2003, Short-Season-A Utica in 2001 in the Marlins organization, and Boles made his managerial debut with the Rookie-Level Gulf Coast League Marlins in 2000 when he was 25 years old. As a player, Boles was a catcher at the University of South Florida before the Chicago Cubs drafted him in the 42nd round of the 1998 First-Year Player Draft. Boles spent two seasons as a player before joining the coaching ranks. Boles’s father, John, managed in the Major Leagues with the Florida Marlins in 1996 and 1999-2001 and was an executive with several teams over two decades. Entering 2022, Kevin Boles has a 1,209-1,225 record in 19 seasons as a manager, including a 345-366 record in five Triple-A seasons. With Boles as manager, Pawtucket won the 2014 Governors’ Cup title as the International League champions. Following the 2018 season, Baseball America recognized Boles as the International League’s Best Managerial Prospect. 

Hitting Coach Joel Chimelis returns to Syracuse for his third season in Central New York and his fifth year at the Triple-A level for the Mets. Chimelis was born in Brooklyn and came to the Mets organization in 2018 after spending 12 years with the Astros and two seasons with the Montreal Expos/Washington Nationals organization. As a player, Chimelis was drafted by the Athletics in the 11th round of the 1988 draft. He spent eight minor league seasons with the Athletics, Giants, and Mets.  

Pitching Coach Steve Schrenk is back for his second season with Syracuse and in the Mets organization. Schrenk joined Syracuse in June 2021. Prior to joining the Mets, Schrenk spent 16 years as a pitching coach in the Phillies system at the Rookie, Low-A, Advanced-A, Double-A, and Triple-A levels. Schrenk was drafted by the White Sox in the fourth round of the 1987 draft. He played 16 seasons of professional baseball with five organizations from 1987 to 2002, including two years in the Majors with the Phillies in 1999 and 2000. 

Bench Coach Jay Pecci begins his first season with Syracuse in 2022. Pecci served as the Bench coach for St. Lucie in 2021 and was the bench coach for the Rookie-Level Gulf Coast League Mets in 2019. 2022 marks Pecci’s fourth year in the Mets organization. Pecci was originally drafted by the Oakland Athletics in the 11th round of the 1998 First-Year Player Draft after graduating from Stanford University. Pecci played seven seasons in affiliated baseball with the Athletics, Mariners, and Giants. He then played seven seasons in the independent leagues before playing overseas in Italy and Germany. In 2018, Pecci was a player/manager in Germany to finish his 21-year playing career. Pecci is the grandson of former Major Leaguer Joe Gantenbein who played for the Philadelphia Athletics under manager Connie Mack in 1939 and 1940.  

Development Coach Chris Jacobs is in his first season with the Syracuse Mets and his first season with the New York Mets organization. Jacobs was drafted by the Los Angeles Dodgers in the 17th round of the 2007 draft. He played ten seasons as a first baseman and designated hitter in the minor leagues between the Dodgers and White Sox organizations from 2007-2016. More recently, Jacobs played independent baseball from 2016-2019. After his playing career, Jacobs became the Head of Player Development for the K-Ville Bulldogs in 2019, developing amateur athletes as well as minor league professional players.  

Athletic Trainer Hiroto Kawamura is back for his second season with the Syracuse Mets. This is Kawamura’s seventh season in the Mets organization. The Japan native previously worked as an athletic trainer for the Fresno Grizzlies (the Triple-A affiliate of the San Francisco Giants), the Pawtucket Red Sox (the Triple-A affiliate of the Boston Red Sox), and the Texas State University baseball team.  

Athletic Trainer Anthony Olivieri joins the Syracuse staff in 2022 for the first time. Olivieri was the Infection Control Prevention Coordinator for the New York Mets in 2021. He was also the Athletic Trainer for Rookie-Level Kingsport in 2019, the Athletic Trainer for the Gulf Coast League Mets in 2018, and the Athletic Training Coordinator for the Mets’ Dominican Republic Academy teams in 2017.   

Performance Coach Alex Tavarez also begins his first season with the Syracuse Mets and his ninth year in the Mets organization. Tavarez is also the Mets Latin American Performance Coordinator, a position he has held since 2019. Previously, Tavarez was the Performance/Strength and Conditioning Coach for High-A St. Lucie in 2017 and 2018, for Low-A Columbia in 2016, and for the Gulf Coast League Mets in 2014 and 2015.  

Season tickets and Flex Plans for the 2022 Syracuse Mets baseball season are on sale now. Single game tickets will go on sale Saturday, March 5, 2022. Fans can purchase tickets at the Onondaga Coach Ticket Office at NBT Bank Stadium or over the phone at 315-474-7833 during regular office hours (Monday-Friday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.) or online anytime at SyracuseMets.com. 

Opening Day for the Syracuse Mets is scheduled for Tuesday, April 5th at 6:35 p.m. at NBT Bank Stadium against the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders. Please follow the Syracuse Mets on social media or check SyracuseMets.com for the most up-to-date information on 2022 Syracuse Mets tickets, promotions, and more.