The Mets decided 23 games into the season was enough and it was time for a change.
The team announced on Monday night they have relieved hitting coach Chili Davis and assistant hitting coach Tom Slater of their duties, effective immediately.
The club has named Hugh Quattlebaum the team’s new hitting coach and Kevin Howard the new assistant hitting coach. Both will be in St. Louis on Tuesday.
It’s no secret the Mets have been scuffling to get their offense going. Star shortstop Francisco Lindor is in the midst of a deep hitting slump. The team has picked it up, offensively, over the last couple of games. Their recent uptick in scoring, however, was not enough to prevent what now feels like the inevitable.
“This is a really difficult decision to make,” said acting general manager Zack Scott. “But the reason we felt like it was the right decision was, it’s based more on kind of a vision for what we want our Major League hitting program to be. I’m not going to dive too deep into those details to reveal what that vision is necessarily, but there are certain things that you know.
“A lot of what I’ve spent my time doing since being here is to assess the process that’s going on, to get to before games when guys are struggling, those types of things. I think our job is to support the players and put them in a position to succeed as a baseball operations group. We just felt like the players needed a different level of support and some different skills brought into the mix.”
Time will tell if Quattlebaum and Howard will provide that different level of support.
There’s more to this change for the Mets than meets the eye
The timing of this change raised eyebrows throughout baseball. Scott referred to this being “about the process behind the scenes”.
Davis, as well-respected around the league as they come, was never the choice of new team president Sandy Alderson, writes Mets’ SNY insider Andy Martino.
Alderson strongly considered letting Davis go in the offseason, but finally decided against it. The need to fill so many other new positions at once was likely a factor, as was the year remaining on Davis’ contract.
Mets’ SNY insider Andy Martino
It’s difficult to sidestep the thought of Alderson and his staff sending a message to the coaches and players with this move. The expectations for the Mets in 2021 are high. The offense underperforming, meanwhile, has taken away some of the steam.
And if this is about the process, then having every one on the same page going into the season makes more sense than waiting 23 games to make a move.
Davis was in his third season as the Mets’ hitting coach and Slater was in his fourth season as the team’s assistant hitting coach.
The Mets look to turn the page as they continue their road trip.
