Ray Kerr has turned into one of October’s strangest stories, and he’s done it in a way that circles right back to the Mets.
The Braves reliever, a journeyman most fans probably hadn’t thought much about before this postseason, has now started two playoff games and thrown 6 scoreless innings. He’s given up only 3 hits and 2 walks while striking out a batter per inning. It’s the kind of out-of-nowhere run that forces people to ask where it came from - and how much of it traces back to former Mets pitching coach Jeremy Hefner.
Kerr’s regular season was strong too, with 18.1 innings of solid work, but the bigger point is what he’s doing now at age 31 after posting a 5.30 ERA and logging just 54 major league innings before this year. He’s become a stabilizing arm for Atlanta at exactly the moment they needed one, and Hefner is now part of that story.
That’s what makes the Mets conversation around Freddy Peralta so sticky. The larger complaint isn’t just about one pitcher and one coaching staff. It’s that the Mets are watching someone who used to work in their building get more out of pitchers on a division rival, right as questions keep piling up about the current staff’s ability to do the same.
The Braves’ pitching turnaround was real in 2026. They cut their runs allowed from 734 in 2025 to 626 the following season, a massive drop from a team that was already staring at a lost year.
They still finished 76-86, just two games better than before, but the run prevention jumped off the page. That wasn’t all Hefner, of course, but it was enough to matter.
For the Mets, the comparison is a little different. They allowed only 16 more runs in 2026 than they did in 2025, so this wasn’t a total collapse on that side of the ball.
But the bigger frustration was how fast everything changed at once: the coaching staff, the core players, the whole setup. That kind of overhaul can be hard to untangle.
Hefner, meanwhile, lasted from 2020 to 2025 in New York, which is longer than most coaches get in that kind of environment. He came in with a strong reputation and, even through some rough seasons, never seemed to draw much public heat.
Players appeared to like him, and that still matters. If Peralta’s comments about the Rays pitching coach communicating well are any indication, that part of the job can be just as important as any mechanical tweak.
And then there’s Kerr, whose October surge almost feels like it has a little Hefner magic mixed in. His regular season didn’t feature a ton of walks or strikeouts, which stands out in an era where that’s usually the baseline for Mets pitchers under David Stearns.
So maybe the question isn’t just whether the Mets chose the wrong coach. Maybe it’s whether the system itself is the real problem.
In Other News...
Mets Face One Contract Question In Tarik Skubal Pursuit
Tarik Skubal is already shaping up to be one of the biggest names of the offseason, and the Mets appear to be right in the middle of the chase. New York and the Dodgers are reportedly viewed as two of the leading potential bidders for the pitcher, setting up a familiar kind of winter conflict for a club that is always willing to shop near the top of the market when impact talent becomes available.
For the Mets, though, the real question may not be whether they want in so much as what kind of offer they want to make. They may prefer a shorter contract, while the Dodgers are seen as more likely to go long, and that difference could matter as other clubs like the Yankees or Braves potentially join the bidding. However it plays out, the Mets' approach to Skubal will say plenty about how aggressively they want to attack this offseason. [Read more 🡒]
Freddy Peraltas Rise Will Leave Mets Fans Rethinking One Thing
Freddy Peralta has been one of the more interesting arms in Tampa Bays setup, and his Game 2 assignment against the Yankees only adds to the reminder of how well the Rays tend to get the most out of their pitchers. Peralta has openly credited pitching coach Kyle Snyder for helping shape his recent performance, pointing to the kind of communication and backing that can make a real difference when a pitcher is trying to settle into a new environment.
For Mets fans, the story carries an extra layer because it invites an uncomfortable comparison. Peraltas experience with Tampa Bay stands in contrast to what he found elsewhere, and it naturally raises questions about whether the Mets coaching approach and organizational fit have matched the needs of pitchers in the same way. Even without a tidy answer, the broader point is hard to miss: development is not just about talent, it is about whether the right people and the right message are in place. [Read more 🡒]
Mets Face A Defining Offseason After Stearns Admits His Plan Failed
David Stearns spent part of his season-ending reflection doing something front offices do not always do openly: admitting the Mets approach did not work the way it was supposed to. His run-prevention blueprint was meant to give the club a sturdier identity in 2026, but the results fell short, and Stearns said some of the decisions built into that plan carried too much downside risk. For a team with payroll flexibility and a fan base expecting a real step forward, that kind of reset matters.
The offseason now looks less like a continuation of the same idea and more like a chance to reframe the entire operation. Re-signing key players remains in play, but the bigger question is how the Mets choose to spend their money after learning that efficiency alone is not enough if the roster construction does not hold up. Stearns has already signaled that the old mantra is on the way out, which makes this winter one of the more consequential ones of his tenure. [Read more 🡒]