The Mets’ search for a new hitting coach has already hit a couple of dead ends.
Kevin Long, the club’s former 2015 World Series hitting coach, is out of the picture. So is Chicago Cubs assistant hitting coach John Mallee. Both were linked to the vacancy, but neither will end up on New York’s staff.
According to Mike Puma of The New York Post, the Mets met with Long last week about a role in the hitting department, but the sides never found a fit. Mallee’s situation ended differently: per Jesse Rogers of ESPN, he pulled his name from consideration and will stay in Chicago.
That leaves the Mets back at square one, and the road there has been bumpy. A league source told FanSided over the weekend that outside candidates may be wary of jumping into the job.
"The problem the Mets face is that candidates are more interviewing them than the other way around," a league source told FanSided over the weekend. "The industry feels like going to the Mets can set your career back."
The same source said Long looked like the leading option because of his résumé and his prior connection with Juan Soto. Mallee, meanwhile, was viewed as the fallback if Long passed. Neither scenario came through, and now the Mets have to keep digging.
There’s a reason the job hasn’t looked especially appealing. New York has missed the postseason in back-to-back years, and this past season was a mess by any measure. The Mets carried the second-highest payroll in baseball, then finished 74-88 and buried in last place in the NL East.
The next stretch could bring even bigger consequences if the team keeps missing October. If the Mets fail to reach the playoffs again in 2027, owner Steve Cohen may be pushed toward major changes, beginning with president of baseball operations David Stearns.
Stearns had a much different first season, when the Mets reached Game 6 of the NLCS. The last two years, though, have gone sideways.
The upheaval has already reached the dugout. Carlos Mendoza did not last through his third season as manager, getting fired this past June. The team then removed the interim tag from Andy Green and handed him a three-year extension.
New voices have also started filtering into the front office. The Mets brought in former Minnesota Twins president of baseball operations Derek Falvey as a senior adviser, and they promoted Mariano Duncan to their major league coaching staff in an unspecified role.
Even with those moves, the hitting coach search continues. For now, the Mets are still looking for the right fit - and this time, they’re finding that fit hard to land.
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