The New York Mets had issues internally with their coaching staff, and the structure of their hitting program was one of the biggest ones. Jeremy Barnes was the analytics-based coach, while former Oakland A’s star Eric Chavez helped Mets hitters negotiate the ups and downs of a typical major league season, but both were let go in a coaching staff purge at the end of the season.
Neither one had been hired for a new job until yesterday, when Barnes was added to the staff of the Washington Nationals, where he’ll be the director of base running, game play and defense.
The fact that hitting isn’t mentioned as part of his job is telling. Chavez was outspoken after he was let go, saying that he didn’t believe in the Mets’ two-coach approach, nor was he that big on analytics. It was very apparent that these two didn’t mesh all that well, which was a big part of the overhaul.
Barnes managed to survive for four years in a hitting-related role, according to Tim Boyle of Rising Apple, and he was often criticized for the Mets offensive approach. Chavez always seemed to have the stronger voice, Boyle added, and at times it was tough to tell who was responsible for the struggles of some of the Mets hitters.
For better or worse, the Mets are taking a multi-coach approach to their hitting program this year, albeit with more of a hierarchical structure. Jeff Albert was hired as Director of Major League Hitting, with Troy Snitker as the hitting coach and Rafael Fernandez as the assistant hitting coach.
The key hire here is Snitker. He’s young, but Snitker coached for seven seasons with the Houston Astros, who have been an offensive juggernaut for a while now. Snitker is still just 36, but he’s a good example of a coach who’s come up through the ranks, although there is a whiff of nepo-coaching in his background given that his father, Brian Snitker, was manager of the Braves until he stepped down at the end of the season.
Snitker won’t have to do much to keep outfielder Juan Soto and Francisco Lindor on track, but there are younger players who will be the key to his Mets future. Outfield prospect Carson Benge is the biggest name, with Jett Williams also in the picture, and both are expected to get a long look in spring training.