Mets hire Kai Correa as bench coach, promoting Jeff Albert (sources)

The first two pieces of the Mets coaching staff overhaul have fallen into place.

The Mets have promoted Jeff Albert to run their hitting program, multiple sources told MLB.com on Tuesday, putting him in charge of what they hope will be one of the league’s premier offenses. The team, which has not confirmed the move, still intends to hire at least one hitting coach to serve under Albert.

Additionally, the Mets have hired Kai Correa as bench coach under Carlos Mendoza, according to sources.

Shortly after the end of the season, the Mets announced that they would part ways with Eric Chavez and Jeremy Barnes, who led the club’s hitting program in various capacities from 2022 to 2025, as well as bench coach John Gibbons and several others.

Albert, 44, spent the last three seasons as the Mets’ director of hitting development, after serving as the Cardinals’ hitting coach for four seasons. His resume also includes several years of work in the Cardinals and Astros organizations, including a year on Houston’s big league staff. Additionally, he served as a hitting coach in the Colombian and Dominican winter leagues.

Although Albert’s title does not technically belong to the manager, he will wear the uniform on the Major League bench. His goal will be to improve an offense that finished tied for ninth in the Majors in runs per game despite the presence of star hitters Juan Soto, Francisco Lindor, Pete Alonso and Brandon Nimmo. In particular, the Mets struggled with their situational hitting early in the season, ranking 27th in the Majors in batting average with runners in scoring position before the All-Star break (although they largely corrected these issues after the break).

Correa, 36, first appeared on a Major League coaching staff at age 31 under Gabe Kapler in San Francisco in 2020. Three years later, he briefly served as interim manager after Kapler was fired by the Giants. The Hawaii native has never played professionally, but he has a decade and a half of coaching experience in the professional and collegiate ranks.

Correa’s resume is entirely different from that of Gibbons, who came to the Mets with significant managerial experience. At the time, however, Mendoza was a rookie manager; he now has two full seasons of experience.

The Mets intend to take more time in their search for someone to replace departed pitching coach Jeremy Hefner, according to a source. This hire could come from outside the organization.

In addition to Chavez, Barnes, Gibbons and Hefner, the Mets will need to replace third base coach Mike Sarbaugh and catching instructor Glenn Sherlock this offseason.