Mets Poach Eric Chavez From Yankees in Hitting Coach Heist
A few weeks ago, the Yankees officially announced their coaching staff for the 2022 MLB season. Within the first week of the new year, however, it looks like a revision to that group of coaches needs to be made.
The Mets have reportedly poached Eric Chavez from his assistant hitting coach position on the Yankees' staff, hiring the former third baseman to serve as their primary hitting coach this season. Mark Feinsand of MLB.com was first to report Chavez's abrupt move from the Bronx to Queens.
Chavez was hired by the Yankees to work on manager Aaron Boone's staff, joining new hitting coach Dillon Lawson as an assistant. With Chavez heading crosstown in this offseason plot twist, that leaves Casey Dykes (New York's former Triple-A hitting coach) as the only other assistant hitting coach currently remaining on the Yankees' big-league staff.
Speaking to reporters last month, Boone opened up about how excited he was to have Chavez on his staff.
"I kind of view him as a little bit of a Swiss Army [knife], where he's going to have a lot of different responsibilities, he's going to have his hands on a lot of different things and it's a role that I feel like is going to evolve as he allows it to," Boone said just over two weeks ago.
READ: Yankees' Aaron Boone Explains How Eric Chavez Fits on New York's Coaching Staff
It's worth noting that Chavez already had a close relationship with the Mets' new general manager Billy Eppler from their time together within both the Yankees and Angles organizations. Chavez was a player and special assignment scout under Eppler in New York before he was hired as a special assistant when Eppler took over as the Angels' GM. He also spent some time as Los Angeles' Triple-A skipper.
Earlier in the offseason, the Yankees scooped up Luis Rojas to be their new third base coach shortly after his two-year stint as Mets manager came to an end.
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