NEW YORK — Following a year in which he received significant credit for a change in the Mets’ offensive philosophy, hitting coach Eric Chavez is moving closer to manager Buck Showalter as his bench coach.
Chavez will shift positions while assistant hitting coach Jeremy Barnes becomes the hitting coach, a person with knowledge of the plans confirmed. The team has yet to announce its 2023 coaching staff under Showalter.
According to the New York Post, which first reported the mini shakeup, 2022 bench coach Glenn Sherlock will move into a catching instructor’s position. Sherlock has a longstanding relationship with Showalter that goes back decades.
Chavez, 44, came to the Mets last offseason after general manager Billy Eppler lured him away from an assistant position on the Yankees’ dugout staff. Eppler and Chavez became close when they were both members of the Yankees’ organization in the early 2010s.
Barnes is a holdover from the previous regime, which hired him as a player development staffer before Eppler moved him into the clubhouse as Chavez’s assistant.
Under Chavez and Barnes, the Mets constructed one of the best batting averages with runners in scoring position early in the season, among other feats. Although the team lacked home run power relative to other teams, New York finished tied for fifth in the Majors with 4.77 runs per game.
Elsewhere on the staff, pitching coach Jeremy Hefner is expected back in the same role. The Mets plan to announce their full coaching staff at a later date.