Mets to hire Joey Cora as third base coach

He will join Jeremy Hefner on Buck Showalter’s coaching staff

The Mets have filled one of the vacancies on Buck Showalter’s coaching staff. According to the NY Post’s Mike Puma, the club is finalizing a deal to hire Joey Cora as their third base coach.

Following their disappointing 77-win season, the club announced a major coaching staff shakeup after they declined their option on Luis Rojas. The club retained pitching coach Jeremy Hefner but reassigned or parted ways with the rest of their coaches. The team officially hired Showalter last month to serve as the 24th manager in franchise history.

Cora played for four teams and was named to one All Star team during his 11-year major league playing career, which ran from 1987 until 1998. After retiring, he began his coaching career managing in the Mets’ minor league system before being hired as a coach for the White Sox. He was eventually tapped to be Chicago’s bench coach following the 2006 season and stayed with the team until Ozzie Guillen was dismissed. He followed his former manager to the Marlins, where he served in the same role in 2012. He went on to manage the Double-A Altoona Curve in the Pirates organization in 2016, and was promoted to their third base coach in 2017, where he served until he was dismissed last October.

Cora is the first coaching hire until Showalter’s managerial tenure. With the absence of player moves resulting from the current MLB lockout, the coaching hires will take center stage over the next few weeks. The club still needs to fill a number of vacancies on Showalter’s staff, including hitting coach, first base coach, and bench coach.