Mets hire 2 coaches for Mendoza's new staff, AP source says

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NEW YORK (AP) — The New York Mets are hiring Kai Correa as bench coach and promoting Jeff Albert to oversee their major league hitting program, according to a person familiar with the decisions.

The person spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity Tuesday night because the team had not yet announced the moves.

Correa and Albert are the first replacements after the Mets elected to overhaul manager Carlos Mendoza's coaching staff in the wake of a disappointing 83-79 season that ended without a playoff berth.

The 37-year-old Correa, born in Hawaii, spent the past two seasons as the Cleveland Guardians' major league field coordinator. Added to his title this year was director of defense, strategy and baserunning.

Before that, Correa was San Francisco's bench coach from 2020-23 and served as interim manager for three games after the Giants fired skipper Gabe Kapler in September 2023.

Correa replaces John Gibbons, who resigned as Mendoza's bench coach after the season.

Albert, who turns 45 on Halloween, was the St. Louis Cardinals' hitting coach from 2019-22. He spent the past three seasons as the Mets' director of hitting development and now will assume a prominent role with the big league club.

New York announced Oct. 3 that hitting coaches Jeremy Barnes and Eric Chavez won't return in 2026, along with several other members of Mendoza's staff.

The team still needs to replace pitching coach Jeremy Hefner, third base coach Mike Sarbaugh and catching coach Glenn Sherlock, who retired.

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AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb