NY Mets hitting coach Eric Chavez should be on the hot seat for more than this week

If there is one person who has caught the ire of New York Mets fans this season, it's hitting coach Eric Chavez. With how the Mets' offense has struggled to stay consistent and hit with runners in scoring positions, fans feel the only way to fix this problem is to fire the hitting staff and replace them with someone with a different approach. However, history shows us that firing a hitting coach doesn't magically solve all the problems. Just look at when the Mets fired Chili Davis in 2021, the offensive struggles continued and even got worse in some areas.

While firing Chavez won't fix the problems the 2025 Mets are currently facing, that doesn't mean he's done enough to keep his job. There are plenty of issues on this team that have stemmed from Chavez's inability to do his job effectively. None bigger than how the young hitters have performed since being called up.

The development of the Mets young hitters is the reason Eric Chavez shouldn't be retained

Chavez was not always the most hated person in the Mets fanbase. At one point, it seemed like they'd found a diamond in the rough with Chavez. When he became the hitting coach at the start of the 2022 season, the offense never looked better. They ranked second in team batting average and on-base percentage, and were also in the top ten in OPS, hits, triples, RBIs, and slugging—a significant increase from where the team was at the end of the 2021 season.

However, what's different about the 2022 team compared to the 2025 team is the team's level of experience. The 2022 was built mainly around veterans. All of the nine everyday starters had at least three years of big league experience going in. The most inexperienced players in the lineup were Pete Alonso and Jeff McNeil, who were each entering their fourth full season in the bigs. A veteran lineup is much easier to coach because it's more about offering guidance and expertise rather than teaching.

The 2025 Mets are much less of a veteran-centric team. Sure, the top of the lineup is filled with experienced MLB players. However, four everyday players have made their debut within the last three years. The bottom of the order relies heavily on guys who used to be former top prospects. With that much inexperience, coaching becomes much more critical. Rather than tweaking approaches of established players, you have to teach these young guys how to become consistent, everyday players.

Teaching seems to be something that Chavez struggled with. For whatever reason, his message and tips are not resonating with the young players. Francisco Alvarez has lost all of his power, something he was praised for in the minors. Brett Baty can get hot for five or six games, then go ice cold for the next ten to fifteen. Mark Vientos looks like a completely different player than we saw in the second half of 2024 and the postseason. They've failed to adapt their approaches to major league pitching, and the coaching staff has to be held accountable for that.

If the Mets want to have sustained success, then they need the young guys on the roster to develop into consistent everyday players. The only way that's going to be done is if Chavez is fired and a new hitting coach is brought in. It's the only way to prevent these offensive problems from continuing past this season.