7:47PM: Either Claiborne or Druschel will be the Yankees’ new bullpen coach, SNY’s Andy Martino reports.
6:53PM: Desi Druschel is returning to the Yankees as an assistant to pitching coach Matt Blake, ESPN’s Jeff Passan reports. He worked in that same capacity during the 2022-24 seasons, and is now back in the Bronx after a one-year sojourn across town as an assistant pitching coach with the Mets. Druschel wasn’t fired by the Mets, but Passan writes that the team gave him permission to speak with other teams about jobs.
The Mets’ coaching staff has already undergone quite an overhaul in the month since the team’s disappointing season came to an end. Druschel joins bench coach John Gibbons, pitching coach Jeremy Hefner, hitting coaches Eric Chavez and Jeremy Barnes, infield coach Mike Sarbaugh, and retiring catching instructor Glenn Sherlock as members of the 2025 staff who won’t be returning in 2026. Two vacancies have already been filled, as the Amazins hired Kai Correa as Carlos Mendoza’s new bench coach, and Jeff Albert is the team’s new director of Major League hitting (with a more traditional hitting coach still to be hired).
Hefner’s departure was the first sign of an overhaul to the pitching department, so it isn’t a shock that Druschel is also on the way out. The Mets’ rotation and bullpen were the primary reasons for the team’s second-half fade, as between injuries and ineffectiveness, the Amazins had trouble finding enough arms to just cover innings down the stretch, let alone effectively post results. Forty-six different players took the mound for the 2025 Mets for a team that finished 18th in baseball with a 4.04 team ERA — after the All-Star break, the Mets’ 4.74 team ERA was the sixth-worst in baseball.
It is unfair to lay the blame entirely on the coaching staff, of course, and obviously the Mets’ pitching struggles didn’t prevent Druschel from quickly landing a job back with his old club. The 50-year-old Druschel had a long collegiate coaching career, including stints as the Iowa baseball program’s director of operations and pitching coach before was hired by the Yankees in 2019 as their minor league manager of pitching development.
Preston Claiborne was hired as Druschel’s replacement in the assistant pitching coach role last winter. It isn’t known if the Yankees will keep both men as Blake’s assistants, or if Claiborne could potentially be on his way out. In other Yankees coaching news, first base/infield coach Travis Chapman, bullpen coach Mike Harkey, and assistant hitting coach Pat Roessler are on the way out (though Roessler may return in another job), and former hitting coordinator Jake Hirst will join Druschel as new members of Aaron Boone’s staff.
Interesting that he left the Yankees to join the Mets for the same position, and a year later he decided to return to the Yankees for the same position. I suspect he prefers the devil he knows, meaning Blake, as the Mets are bringing in all new coaches. He’s regarded as one of the top pitch-shape design coaches in MLB.
Well, that’s gonna solve all those problems the last coach’s created. Huge eye roll please.
Martino said that Druschel was hired by Hefner, not Mendoza, so it makes sense that he wouldn’t want to stick around for a new pitching coach. I’m guessing he didn’t get any serious offers for a promotion from another team and went back to NYY to work with Blake, who’s easily one of the best in the game.
Great development for the Yankees.
what the hell is a director of major league hitting? did an AI come up with that job title?
mlbtr needs to do an article explaining all of the modern-era job titles and their responsibilities
Brought to you by FandDuel AI:
The role of a Director of Major League Hitting is a relatively modern and often high-level position that is distinct from the traditional Major League Hitting Coach.
While the Hitting Coach typically focuses on the day-to-day work with the players on the Major League roster, the Director of Major League Hitting often has a more comprehensive, organizational, and strategic role.
Key responsibilities often include:
Organizational Hitting Philosophy and Strategy: Defining and ensuring a consistent hitting philosophy, approach, and mechanical framework is being taught across the entire organization, from the Major League team down through all the minor league affiliates.
Bridging Analytics and Coaching: Working closely with the team’s analytics and research department to translate complex hitting data (like exit velocity, launch angle, swing plane metrics) into practical, understandable instruction for coaches and players.
Oversight of Major League Hitting Staff: Supervising the Major League Hitting Coach and Assistant Hitting Coaches, monitoring their instruction and ensuring alignment with the organizational strategy.
Technology Integration: Overseeing the adoption and effective use of technology and resources (e.g., video analysis, high-speed cameras, bat sensors) to aid in player development and performance analysis.
Player Development and Intervention: Acting as a resource for Major League hitters, especially for deeper mechanical issues or slumps, often in coordination with the Major League hitting coach.
In essence, the Director of Major League Hitting serves as the chief strategist and consistent voice for hitting development across the highest level of the organization, ensuring continuity and effectiveness of instruction.