With their first moves of a new-look coaching staff on the heels of a majorly disappointing season, the New York Mets are tabbing Kai Correa as bench coach and Jeff Albert as their lead hitting instructor, league sources confirmed.
Correa, 37, stands out as an intriguing choice because many in the industry view him as an up-and-coming managerial candidate.
For the last two seasons, he worked as the Cleveland Guardians’ major-league field coordinator. Before that, he served as the San Francisco Giants’ bench coach and infield coordinator before the start of the 2020 campaign. When Gabe Kapler was fired late in the 2023 season, Correa stepped into managerial duties for San Francisco’s final three games. Without any other managerial experience, Correa is the opposite of his predecessor, John Gibbons, the 63-year-old who left the position.
Mets manager Carlos Mendoza is entering his third year. Ahead of the 2024 season, he signed a three-year deal with a club option for 2027. The Mets went to the National League Championship Series in 2024 but failed to make the playoffs in 2025 despite being 20 games over .500 in mid-June. It’s interesting that Correa would take the job to be Mendoza’s right hand despite several managerial jobs around the league still open. It’s worth noting, however, that Gibbons suggested the Mets would benefit from youth at the position when he left.
The Mets wanted to improve their defense, and Correa can help, based on his years of experience working with fielders. This is how Correa and Mendoza have a little bit of knowledge of one another. When Mendoza worked as an infield coordinator for the New York Yankees, he shared tips with Correa, who was a college coach at the time. Before joining the Giants, Correa worked as an infield coach and defensive coordinator for Cleveland’s farm system in 2018 and 2019.
While Correa is a new voice for the Mets, Albert brings some familiarity to the hitting side.
Over the last couple of seasons, Albert was the Mets’ director of hitting in player development, helping to oversee a farm system that has greatly improved recently. Albert previously worked as the St. Louis Cardinals’ hitting coach. ESPN first reported the move.
In his role last season, Albert also spent time around the major-league team, particularly throughout September (the minor-league season ends earlier). The Mets may add another hitting coach who would report to Albert. After the season, New York announced it invited coaching assistant Rafael Fernandez, who worked with hitters, to return to the staff.
With Albert replacing co-hitting coaches Jeremy Barnes and Eric Chavez, the Mets are hoping for better consistency from their offense. Statistically, the Mets’ lineup ranked highly in traditional and underlying categories, but it too often experienced lulls.
Albert’s work in player development should come in handy. The Mets have veterans and stars under contract for the long term, such as Juan Soto, Francisco Lindor and Brandon Nimmo, but president of baseball operations David Stearns has said since taking over in 2023 that he wants to leave room for young players. Thus, players such as Brett Baty, Mark Vientos, Luisangel Acuña and Ronny Mauricio have received time over the last couple of years. Albert must get the most out of them — along with young catcher Francisco Alvarez — to supplement the Mets’ lineup.
Ahead of the 2025 season, Mets senior vice president for player development Andy Green said Albert was “as bright as anybody in the game when it comes to hitting.” In 2025, Albert’s second full season with the Mets, he helped hire new hitting coaches at each level. Albert’s calling cards as an instructor, according to people who have worked with him, include distilling complex information and breaking down the technical aspects of a swing. The best examples of success in the Mets’ player development under Albert include A.J. Ewing (.688 OPS in affiliated action in 2024, .830 OPS in 2025) and Jacob Reimer (.640 OPS in 2024, .870 OPS in 2025).
Plenty of vacancies remain on manager Carlos Mendoza’s coaching staff. The Mets need to replace their pitching coach, third base coach and catching coach.
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