Mets closing in on hiring Willard as pitching coach (source)

NEW YORK -- The Mets are closing in on hiring Justin Willard as their next pitching coach, a source confirmed Saturday, adding another significant name to Carlos Mendoza's coaching staff.

While the Mets have not yet hired Willard, the 35-year-old appears to be the clear frontrunner for the job. He is currently the director of pitching for the Red Sox, working largely in the pitching development space.

If hired, Willard will replace Jeremy Hefner, who had been the Mets' pitching coach since 2020. The Mets finished 18th in ERA last season, in large part due to the rotation's second-half struggles. Among the foremost challenges for the next pitching coach will be correcting the issues of Kodai Senga and Sean Manaea, among others.

Willard would become part of a staff-wide overhaul that has included the hires of Jeff Albert as director of hitting, Troy Snitker as hitting coach and Kai Correa as bench coach. The Mets still must replace third-base coach Mike Sarbaugh and are likely also to replace first-base coach Antoan Richardson, who was invited back to the staff but has not been able to agree on new contract terms with the team.