NY Mets suddenly have a coaching vacancy after championship-winning season

The Binghamton Rumble Ponies won the Eastern League Championship thanks to some magnificent pitching as well as productive years at the plate. Even though they weren’t able to secure their championship with Jonah Tong, Jett Williams, or Carson Benge on the team, the loaded New York Mets farm team was victorious.

The coaching staff has already been rewarded internally with pitching coach Dan McKinney getting elevated to the big league staff. Manager Reid Brignac, who was hired in early 2020, worked his way up to Double-A where he managed in Binghamton for four years. He didn’t receive a promotion within the Mets organization, but will be coaching next in Triple-A for a different team.

The Tampa Bay Rays have hired Brignac to coach for the Durham Bulls. No exact role has been publicized, but a move up to Triple-A is a promotion nonetheless.

The Mets suddenly have a manager vacancy in Double-A

Who’s going to coach the Rumble Ponies next year? It won’t be an elevated spot for Brooklyn Cyclones manager Gilbert Gomez who was named the first base coach for the Mets. St. Lucie manager Luis Rivera might make the most sense if the team is going internal.

The 77-53 St. Lucie Mets were led by Rivera for the first time as a skipper. About half of his life has been spent with the Mets organization, dating back to 2006 when he was a player in the minor leagues. Although they came up short, their impressive regular season performance might have him as one of the more logical choices to elevate up the minor leagues and into a new gig. Double-A might be premature with an obvious opening in Brooklyn to fill, too.

One thing the Mets have yet to do this offseason is hire notable franchise alumni to take on any kind of coaching gigs. There was no Edgardo Alfonzo, Carlos Beltran, or any other hire to cater to the fans. It’s all fine. They know what they’re doing. You don’t hire someone just because they were a good player. Hire the guy whose entire career and reputation matters because he never had more than a baseball card sold in the team store.

It’s not unusual for such high turnover within an organization’s coaching staff. Because the Mets made so many changes at the highest level, and promoted from within, it does feel like there are more vacancies than usual.