What Troy Snitker brings to the New York Mets

The Mets hired former Astros coach Troy Snitker to join Jeff Albert in leading the team’s revamped hitting program.

Oct 30, 2021; Atlanta, Georgia, USA; Houston Astros hitting coach Troy Snitker (46) in the dugout prior to game four of the 2021 World Series against the Atlanta Braves at Truist Park. Mandatory Credit: Brett Davis-Imagn Images | Brett Davis-Imagn Images

The New York Mets have added another experienced voice to help lead their revamped hitting program in 2026.

On Monday morning, SNY’s Andy Martino reported that the Mets had hired Troy Snitker as their next hitting coach. He will work under Jeff Albert, who was appointed as the club’s major league director of hitting earlier this month.

The Mets are hiring Troy Snitker as their next hitting coach, league sources say.

— Andy Martino (@martinonyc) October 27, 2025

Snitker, 36, served as a hitting coach for the Houston Astros at the major league level from 2019 through the 2025 season, helping the club win a World Series in 2022. He is the son of longtime Atlanta Braves manager Brian Snitker, who recently stepped down after 10 seasons.

In 2025, the Astros ranked 21st in runs scored, 23rd in batting average with runners in scoring position, tied for 16th in home runs, and tied for 14th in OPS. After missing the postseason, Houston made significant changes to its coaching staff and front office, including the decision not to renew Snitker’s contract.

Snitker had spent his entire professional coaching career in the Astros organization until now, working his way up from rehab hitting coordinator (2016) to Single-A hitting coach (2017) to Double-A hitting coach (2018) before joining the big league staff. Albert was also coaching in the Astros’ minor league system during those three years.

In a feature story published four years ago by the Houston Chronicle, Chandler Rome—now with The Athletic—wrote that Albert was the first person to contact Snitker after receiving his cover letter in 2015, which detailed his hitting philosophy. Snitker holds a master’s degree in exercise science and played two seasons in the Braves’ minor league system before becoming a graduate assistant at North Georgia, but his exercise science background especially appealed to Albert.

Snitker has been known to step into the batting cage and physically adjust some of his batters’ bodies and movements when things go awry mechanically. Rome wrote that multiple former Astros, including All-Star outfielder Kyle Tucker, praised Snitker’s ability to simplify sometimes complex instruction, helping them understand what their bodies need to do to fix their swings.

I really like Troy Snitker’s ties to Jeff Albert and his experience / focus on biomechanics

Modern approach with old school feel

Good excerpt here from a piece about Snitker back in spring training 2021 with the Astros pic.twitter.com/uWP3UMZxpN

— James Schiano (@James_Schiano) October 27, 2025

In addition to working collaboratively with the strength and conditioning staff, Snitker has experience sharing hitting coach duties. He spent the past seven seasons alongside fellow hitting coach Alex Cintrón, a former infielder who played nine seasons in the majors.

Rome wrote that Cintrón’s on-field experience blended seamlessly with Snitker’s exercise science background, as the two often arrived at the same conclusion while taking very different approaches. The Astros led MLB in batting average in 2024, but their offense regressed heavily in 2025 while All-Stars Yordan Álvarez, Jeremy Peña, and Isaac Paredes missed significant time with injuries.

Read More: Mets coach rejoins Yankees after one season

The Mets used Eric Chávez and Jeremy Barnes as co-hitting coaches in 2025. Under that setup, the club finished fifth in wRC+ (112), eighth in batting average with runners in scoring position (.260), and tied for ninth in runs per game (4.73). Both coaches were among several let go by the Mets following a second-half collapse that left them out of the postseason.

Chávez told The Athletic after his departure that he believes the co-hitting coach dynamic should be avoided, saying one person needs to have the voice. Albert will lead New York’s hitting program in 2026, though Snitker should have a sizable role as well.

In addition to hiring Albert and Snitker, the Mets have filled one other coaching staff vacancy thus far, naming Kai Correa as bench coach. Assistant pitching coach Desi Druschel left the organization Sunday to join the New York Yankees, creating another opening on the staff.