Mets hire minor-league pitching guru
Eric Jagers #65 of the Cincinnati Reds poses for a portrait during photo day at Goodyear Ballpark on March 18, 2022 in Goodyear, Arizona. Credit: Getty Images
LAS VEGAS — The Mets believe they have found their Jeremy Hefner for the minor leagues.
They hired Eric Jagers, who had been the assistant pitching coach with the Reds, as their director of pitching development, general manager Billy Eppler announced Tuesday. He will oversee all pitching-related goings-on in their farm system, helping shape what the Mets hope is the kind of steady stream of homegrown arms they have lacked in recent seasons.
Hefner, the pitching coach on the major-league staff, participated in the interviews of all the candidates for the position, according to Eppler.
“The synchronicity he has with Jeremy Hefner was a major factor in him getting this job,” Eppler said. “It was really important to have them seeing the world similarly and speaking the same language.”
Jagers, 27, has what one might consider a modern baseball background. Since 2018, he has worked at Driveline, an independent and data-driven baseball development facility in the Seattle area. He spent the 2019 season as a pitching strategist with the Phillies, “focused on integrating technology pitching development across the minor leagues,” Jagers wrote on his LinkedIn page.
Eppler cited Jagers’ “understanding of movement science and the biomechanics that go into pitching and the efficiency of the kinematic sequence” as a reason he was the right hire.
“And also he’s got a pitch design element to him, as well. I think a lot of players are thirsty for that,” Eppler said. “Regardless of that hire or any hire, is we’re really trying to serve the players . . . We just want to be able to answer every question. If a player has questions, I want them to be able to talk to somebody from a technical expertise [standpoint] and maybe from a psychological expertise. If we can really kind of have that diversity of thought, we should be able to serve the players for everything that they need.”
Tim Healey is the Mets beat writer for Newsday. Born on Long Island and raised in Connecticut, Tim has previously worked for the South Florida Sun Sentinel, the Boston Globe and MLB.com. He is also the author of “Hometown Hardball,” a book about minor league baseball in the northeast.
