Former NY Mets player feels like a candidate to follow Jeremy Hefner to the Braves

The Atlanta Braves were able to add two members of the 2025 New York Mets coaching staff this week. First base coach Antoan Richardson as well as longtime pitching coach Jeremy Hefner have turned heel and joined Atlanta.

While many fans are probably over the Hefner tenure, there are always ramifications to follow moves like this. Players he has worked with before could always have some interest in reuniting whether it’s for personal reasons or because they believe he can bring out the best in them.

For one season, Hefner had a chance to work with Chris Bassitt. He spoke glowingly about his improvements made with the former Mets pitching coach, crediting Hefner with a few of the ways he was able to up his game.

“I made some mechanical changes and just like mound changes of where I set up in the offseason because at the end of last year I thought my mechanics kind of failed me a little bit ... I give [pitching coach] Jeremy Hefner at the Mets a ton of credit because he kind of had the idea at the end of last year. And then obviously was the idea going into the offseason, because I feel like I obviously had the capabilities of eating a lot of innings, and my arm I know with can withstand it. But with was my mechanics the way that they were, it was more so, my legs didn’t get sore, my legs got fatigued at the very end. And then when I was on the first base side, I was not able to stay strong in my legs and it just kind of was a perfect storm at the end where it kind of just failed me. So we made the adjustment. We said ‘hey, you can always have your two seam, you’re always gonna have all your pitches, but we think if you move closer to the middle of the rubber, it’s gonna just naturally allow you to just be stronger within your legs for a longer period of time.”

Jeremy Hefner’s presence on the Braves could provide a path toward some ex-Mets going there, too

Bassitt turned his successful 2022 season with the Mets into a tenth-place Cy Young performance in 2023. A model of consistency as far as staying on the field goes, he has made 30+ starts in four straight seasons. He turns 37 in February, but that shouldn’t deter too many teams. The Braves, especially with Charlie Morton’s tenure not too far back in the rearview mirror, could always be one of those teams to give Bassitt a high-valued deal for a short period of time.

A Bassitt-Hefner reunion in Atlanta is far more realistic than Bassitt coming back to the Mets. If the Mets are adding to their rotation, it needs to be for a more legitimate ace. He suffered from some of the same issues as other Mets pitchers this past year. Although he logged 170.1 innings, he reached 6 innings once in August and another time in September.

Bassitt’s loss on October 2, 2022 to the Braves, ironically enough, was one of his more New York-defining moments. He followed it up with a stinker versus the San Diego Padres in the playoffs where he received one-hit of support.

The Athletic’s Jim Bowden believes the Braves’ biggest needs are starting pitching and shortstop. A player like Bassitt would allow them to spend more readily on a shortstop such as Bo Bichette. Of course, it’ll take more than knowing the pitching coach to make it happen. Bassitt has already expressed interest in returning to the Blue Jays. With Shane Bieber already opting into his contract, perhaps the clubhouse there is more tempting than an equal or slightly better offer Atlanta could throw his way.