The New York Mets are remaking their major league staff after they fell short of a postseason berth, naming a new bench coach and lead hitting coach, sources told ESPN.
The Mets are hiring Kai Correa as their bench coach, sources confirmed to ESPN. Correa will be manager Carlos Mendoza's right-hand man and comes to New York after a previous stint as bench coach and interim manager in San Francisco and serving as an integral part of Cleveland's coaching staff since 2024.
Jeff Albert, the Mets' director of hitter development, will serve as the team's lead hitting coach in 2026 and be in uniform, sources told ESPN.
While Albert's title has not been defined, he was formerly the hitting coach of the St. Louis Cardinals. Albert, 44, joined the Mets in November 2022 and has worked in a development capacity, helping the team rebuild a system that has its strongest group of hitting prospects in years.
Albert also spent six years with the Houston Astros, where he worked with Mets president of baseball operations David Stearns. The Mets plan to bring in another coach to complement Albert, sources said, after they fired hitting coaches Jeremy Barnes and Eric Chavez as part of a staff revamp that also included the departures of pitching coach Jeremy Hefner, bench coach John Gibbons, third-base coach Mike Sarbaugh and catching coach Glenn Sherlock.
Following a 45-24 start, the Mets cratered over the season's final 3½ months and finished 83-79, losing a tiebreaker with the Cincinnati Reds for the final National League wild card spot.
The Mets' offense finished 10th in Major League Baseball in runs scored and returns most of their core, including outfielder Juan Soto, shortstop Francisco Lindor and outfielder Brandon Nimmo. First baseman Pete Alonso said he plans to opt out of his contract and will become a free agent for the second consecutive season.
News of Correa's hiring was first reported by Pat Ragazzo.