{"id":115544,"date":"2025-11-02T09:21:00","date_gmt":"2025-11-02T09:21:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=115544"},"modified":"2025-11-02T09:21:00","modified_gmt":"2025-11-02T09:21:00","slug":"%f0%9f%94%a5-big-rebuild-ahead-mets-to-bring-in-justin-willard-as-new-pitching-coach-he-inherits-a-rotation-in-freefall-and-must-reverse-the-collapse-fast","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=115544","title":{"rendered":"\ud83d\udd25 BIG REBUILD AHEAD: Mets to bring in Justin\u202fWillard as new pitching coach \u2014 he inherits a rotation in freefall and must reverse the collapse fast."},"content":{"rendered":"<p>TORONTO \u2014 The Mets\u2019 search for a new pitching coach has reached the finish line.<\/p>\n<p>Access the Mets beat like never before<\/p>\n<p class=\"\"><em>Join Post Sports+ for exciting subscriber-only features, including real-time <strong>texting with Mike Puma<\/strong> about the inside buzz on the Mets.<\/em><\/p>\n<p>Advertisement<\/p>\n<p class=\"\">Try it free<\/p>\n<p>Justin Willard, the Red Sox director of pitching, is set to assume the pitching coach duties with the Mets, an industry source confirmed to The Post\u2019s Joel Sherman on Saturday. The 35-year-old Willard will replace Jeremy Hefner, whose 2026 club option was declined as part of a coaching staff shake-up following the Mets\u2019 second-half collapse.<\/p>\n<p>Willard will be charged with resurrecting Kodai Senga, Sean Manaea and David Peterson, in particular. All three starters took a nosedive in the second half \u2014 a significant factor in the team cratering, culminating with a loss on the final day of the season in Miami that kept the Mets from clinching a National League wild-card berth.<\/p>\n<p>With the Red Sox, Willard worked under pitching coach Andrew Bailey and was credited for bolstering the organization\u2019s infrastructure with the use of new technology. Willard previously served in minor league roles in the Twins organization.<\/p>\n<figure>\n<div>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/s.yimg.com\/ny\/api\/res\/1.2\/zDBxZ7zw7G92wrP5nDDeGw--\/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjt3PTk2MDtoPTYzOTtjZj13ZWJw\/https:\/\/media.zenfs.com\/en\/ny_post_sports_articles_389\/81d7d5b140f64b71b912d30136352921\" alt=\"Mets set to hire Justin Willard as next pitching coach with tall task ahead\" width=\"960\" height=\"639\" data-nimg=\"1\" \/><\/p>\n<p><dialog aria-label=\"Image Lightbox\" aria-modal=\"true\"><\/dialog><\/div><figcaption>Director of Pitching Justin Willard of the Boston Red Sox watches as Tanner Houck throws in the bullpen before a game against the Milwaukee Brewers on May 24, 2024 at Fenway Park in Boston, Massachusetts. Getty Images<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>The Athletic first reported that Willard was the front runner for the Mets opening.<\/p>\n<p>Advertisement<\/p>\n<p>The Mets are also set to name a female coach within the organization. According to a source, the club is set to hire Rachel Folden as the hitting coach at Double-A Binghamton. Folden this season was a hitting coach in the Cubs\u2019 minor league system.<\/p>\n<p>Folden, 38, became a consultant for Elite Baseball Training after concluding a fastpitch softball career. Folden\u2019s first foray into professional baseball was with the Cubs in 2019, running the organization\u2019s Arizona hitting lab.<\/p>\n<p>At the major league level, the Mets recently named Jeff Albert as the director of hitting and hired Troy Snitker as a hitting coach. Eric Chavez and Jeremy Barnes served as the hitting coaches the last two seasons, but both were fired last month with one year remaining on their contracts.<\/p>\n<p>The Mets also hired Kai Correa as bench coach after John Gibbons stepped aside from his duties. The team has not named a third base coach to replace Mike Sarbaugh, whose contract was not renewed.<\/p>\n<figure>\n<div>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/s.yimg.com\/ny\/api\/res\/1.2\/eWKxLKoKiJp9j8SdRCKZhQ--\/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjt3PTk2MDtoPTYzOTtjZj13ZWJw\/https:\/\/media.zenfs.com\/en\/ny_post_sports_articles_389\/e98e3afc943c8500edc1e4b433c2a3e0\" alt=\"Mets set to hire Justin Willard as next pitching coach with tall task ahead\" width=\"960\" height=\"639\" data-nimg=\"1\" \/><\/p>\n<p><dialog aria-label=\"Image Lightbox\" aria-modal=\"true\"><\/dialog><\/div><figcaption>Rachel Folden of the Chicago Cubs throws batting practice before a game against the Cincinnati Reds at Wrigley Field on September 7, 2022 in Chicago, Illinois. Getty Images<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>The Mets are also expected to part ways with first base coach Antoan Richardson, who is a free agent after the two sides couldn\u2019t reach agreement on a new contract.<\/p>\n<p>Richardson was credited with the team\u2019s base-stealing success this season \u2014 particularly Juan Soto\u2019s career-high 38 stolen bases.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Mets\u2019 search for a new pitching coach has reached the finish line.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":115545,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[4392,964,1496,284,139,745,4391,4388,65,4386,1150,2386,290,4387,4389,114,563,664,1362,4390],"class_list":["post-115544","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-mlb","tag-antoan-richardson","tag-arizona","tag-boston","tag-cincinnati-reds","tag-cubs","tag-david-peterson","tag-eric-chavez","tag-jeremy-hefner","tag-juan-soto","tag-justin-willard","tag-kodai-senga","tag-miami","tag-milwaukee-brewers","tag-pitching-coach","tag-rachel-folden","tag-red-sox","tag-sean-manaea","tag-tanner-houck","tag-the-mets","tag-willard"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v23.6 - 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