Eric Chavez has been retained by the New York Mets and his role has been reassigned.
According to SNY’s Andy Martino, Chavez, who served as the bench coach in 2023, will now take up his former position as hitting coach. Under new manager Carlos Mendoza, Jeremy Barnes, the current hitting coach, will be joined by him.
According to Martino, the players are happy that Chavez is still with the Mets and playing the same position. He received high marks from within the organization for his leadership of the offense in 2022, a season that saw the Mets post the second-highest team batting average and on-base percentage (.259 and.332, respectively), score 772 runs (the fifth-highest in MLB), and win 101 games.
In 2023, without Chavez, the offense declined, finishing sixth in MLB with a.238 team average and 20th in runs scored (717). Still, Chavez will be aided by Jeremy Barnes, who is set to return for a second season as the Mets’ hitting coach.
For 2024, the Mets will now require a new bench coach. Mendoza’s mentor and former Mets manager Willie Randolph is an unexpected contender for this position.
Chavez, who turns 46 in December, played 17 seasons as a third baseman from 1998 to 2014, the first 13 coming with the Oakland Athletics, and hit .268/.342/.475 with 260 home runs. Ironically, despite his excellent reputation as a hitting coach, he was best known for his defensive prowess as a player, winning six consecutive Gold Gloves from 2001 to 2006, although he did win a Silver Slugger in 2002.
Following stints as a special assistant for the Los Angeles Angels and New York Yankees, Chavez was appointed assistant hitting coach for the Yankees in December 2021. In January 2022, he was hired by the Mets as hitting coach. Billy Eppler, the former general manager of the Mets, was present for all of Chavez’s front office and coaching positions in each organization; despite Eppler’s resignation, Chavez will continue to work for the team.