Jeff Pickler has removed his name from consideration for the Mets’ bench coach position, per C. Trent Rosecrans of The Athletic. The Reds’ planning and outfield coach will stay with Cincinnati for 2022.
Pickler had recently been identified as one of the candidates for the position, as the Mets have been actively filling out their coaching staff in recent days. The Mets are behind most other teams in putting their coaching staff together, as they also had to make a front office hire that occupied the early part of their offseason. They eventually hired Billy Eppler as general manager in mid-November, but he had to focus on free agency with the ticking clock of the looming lockout.
Once the lockout was implemented in December and big league transactions were frozen, the club shifted their attention towards the coaching staff, with the majority of the crew from 2021 not being retained. Buck Showalter was the first piece of the puzzle, being hired as manager on December 20th. After a lull in activity around the holidays, the Mets have reportedly added first base coach Wayne Kirby, third base coach Joey Cora and hitting coach Eric Chavez in recent days.
The bench coach position remains an ongoing matter, with today’s news focused on who won’t be taking the position. Earlier today, it was reported that the Padres denied the Mets the opportunity to interview quality control coach Ryan Flaherty for the position, which would have seen him reunite with Showalter, his manager from his playing days in Baltimore.
Pickler was selected by the Brewers in the 11th round of the 1998 draft. He spent eight years in the minors for the Brewers, Rangers and Rockies before transitioning to scouting. After stints as a scout with the Diamondbacks and Padres, he joined the Dodgers in 2014 as special assistant in professional scouting and player development. The Twins hired him as a coach for 2017, with Pickler joining the Reds two years later.
It was recently reported that the Mets had a “headline-grabbing hire” lined up for their bench coach job, but that turned out to be the aforementioned Chavez, who actually settled on the hitting coach position.
The Mets are in quite the pickle.
Be a great hitting coach. Knows a thing or two about barrels
What’s the dill with his background and experience?
Maybe he didn’t relish the opportunity. Or maybe they soured on him.
Or perhaps simply ,he just came across as a bit too salty ?
The Mets just wanted to keep things kosher.
Anyone for a jar of hot Pickled Epplers ?
If that’s the case, then I’m hiring Donkey Kong.
Well played!
Usually when someone “withdraws from consideration”, they are no longer being considered for the job.
What does a quality control baseball coach do?
Control quality.
Of what? No clue but control quality.
Salt , dill and garlic must be premium for perfect brine.
They can simply wait until the Yankees vet a new replacement for Chavez, then offer that person the bench coach job.
A distant relative of Pickles baseball-reference.com/players/d/dillhpi01.shtml
Another Mets opening that no one is interested in. Plus the declines being leaked so quickly. Impressive! Usually the only announcement comes when a job is accepted.
Mets need Edgardo Alfonzo as bench coach. Could be heir apparent to Showalter, who would have no need to be looking over his shoulder.
I love that the post about The Athletic getting bought by The NY Times is closed for comment.
I have no idea how much Showalter listens to his bench coach, but it wouldn’t surprise me if it wasn’t much.
Then again, it would probably look good on your resume to have been Showalter’s bench coach.
Which means he knows he wasn’t getting the job.
Pickler? I don’t even know her!
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