The Atlanta Braves announced two additions to their Major League coaching staff. They announced that Jeremy Hefner will serve as the pitching coach and Antoan Richardson will serve as the first base coach.
Along with these additions, it was noted that the balance of the coaching staff would be announced at a later date. Per multiple reports, pitching coach Rick Kranitz and first base coach Tom Goodwin, along with third base coach Fredi Gonzalez, were informed on Monday that they won’t be back.
Pitching coach Rick Kranitz, third base coach Fredi Gonzalez and first base coach Tom Goodwin were informed Monday they won’t be returning to the Braves coaching staff this year. Jeremy Hefner is the new pitching coach and Antoan Richardson is the new first base coach.
— Mark Bowman (@mlbbowman) November 5, 2025
Krantiz departs after serving in his role from 2019 until last season. He has coached for multiple MLB teams going back 20 years, including the Marlins, Phillies, Orioles and Brewers. Goodwin had previously coached for the Mets and Red Sox.
Both new coaches came over from the New York Mets. Hefner was the pitching coach in Flushing, Queens, for the previous six seasons. He was with the Twins for the previous three seasons before that, which included a role as a scout. Richardson was there for two seasons, serving as the first base coach, outfield coordinator and baserunning instructor. He served a similar role with the Giants for four seasons before that.
What stood out to the Braves about Hefner was that the Mets’s pitching staff had the sixth-best ERA (4.02) in the National League during his tenure. They also allowed the fourth-fewest hits and had the fifth-most strikeouts in the National League during that time. He is well-regarded as a pitching coach, which bodes well for the Braves with this move.
Notably for Richardson, Mets baserunners led the league in stolen-base percentage (89.1%). It’ll be interesting to see what he can do with a staff that includes high-level baserunners such as Ronald Acuña Jr., Jurickson Profar, Michael Harris II and Ozzie Albies.
It’s clear that after a lackluster season, the Braves are looking to make further changes to the coaching staff. Having a new manager is a perfect time to make more significant changes. At this time, it appears Tim Hyers is still the hitting coach.
More announcements will come at a later date, though it’s not expected to take any longer than a few weeks. There is still a key position that needs to be filled, and that’s the bench coach position. Nobody has been named to the role yet. Weiss held the position for eight seasons before getting promoted to manager.
