For all the talent packed into the New York Mets’ lineup, the 2025 season ended with a familiar sting — promise unfulfilled. The Mets ranked fifth in MLB in wRC+ (112), a number that looks great on paper, yet those who followed the team daily know the story was far messier. This was a lineup capable of fireworks but too often settled for flickers.
Despite boasting stars like Juan Soto, Francisco Lindor, Brandon Nimmo, and Pete Alonso, the Mets’ offense sputtered at the worst possible times. A summer filled with frustrating droughts and inconsistent production ultimately cost them a playoff berth — and cost hitting coaches Eric Chavez and Jeremy Barnes their jobs.
Now, the Mets are handing the keys to a new voice, one with a reputation for blending modern hitting theory with real-world feel: Jeff Albert.
Mets Turn to Jeff Albert to Rebuild Their Offensive Identity
According to ESPN’s Jeff Passan, the Mets are promoting Jeff Albert, their current director of hitting development, to lead the major league team’s hitting program in 2026.
Albert, who will turn 45 later this month, will be in uniform and help fill the void left by Chavez and Barnes. The Mets plan to pair him with another hitting coach as part of a revamped structure designed to maximize both data and player relationships.
Albert isn’t just another analytics hire. He’s one of the game’s most respected voices on the science of hitting — someone who has spent nearly two decades bridging the gap between biomechanics, technology, and feel. His challenge in the Mets’ big league team will be translating that knowledge into consistent production from a lineup filled with superstar talent and sky-high expectations.
A Career Built on Blending Data and Development
Albert’s baseball story is as much about evolution as it is experience. After playing collegiately at Butler University, he signed with the Washington Wild Things of the Frontier League in 2003. His professional playing days were brief, but they launched a coaching career that would take him across some of baseball’s smartest organizations.
He spent five years as a hitting coach in the St. Louis Cardinals minor league system before joining the Houston Astros in 2013, where he worked as the club’s minor league hitting coordinator. Those Astros teams became synonymous with offensive innovation, and Albert was a key figure behind the curtain, helping develop the hitting infrastructure that produced stars like George Springer and Carlos Correa.
By 2018, Houston promoted him to assistant hitting coach at the major league level. A year later, the Cardinals brought him back — this time as their big-league hitting coach — a role he held through the 2022 season. When his contract ended, the Mets wasted little time hiring him as their director of hitting development, signaling their long-term interest in his philosophy.
Why Jeff Albert Fits What the Mets Need Now
Albert’s approach has always been forward-thinking, rooted in the idea that hitting is both an art and a science. He’s known for teaching swing efficiency and plate discipline through measurable data — but also for communicating it in a way players can understand. In a clubhouse with as many personalities and hitting styles as the Mets’, that communication could be the difference between potential and production.
The Mets’ offense in 2025 was a microcosm of frustration. They had elite talent but lacked cohesion, often looking like a collection of individual approaches rather than a unified attack.
A Fresh Start with Familiar Pressure
For all his credentials, Albert enters a pressure cooker. The Mets’ ownership and front office have made clear that mediocrity won’t cut it. With David Stearns steering baseball operations and a roster loaded with star power, the expectation isn’t just improvement — it’s transformation.
Albert’s success will hinge on helping players like Lindor, Soto, and Alonso, if he returns, maximize their strengths while tightening the team’s overall offensive identity. If his track record is any indication, he’s more than capable. But in New York, where every at-bat feels like a referendum, even the best theories face the test of results.
The Mets believe Jeff Albert is the right man to pass that test — and if his philosophy clicks, 2026 could mark the start of a much-needed offensive renaissance in Queens.