Report: Mets Tab Joey Cora as Third Base Coach
Former White Sox, Marlins, Buccos coach joins Buck's staff...
Image via Pittsburgh Pirates/Twitter
As celebrated a hire Buck Showalter was for the New York Mets’ managerial position, outside of pitching coach Jeremy Hefner, his coaching staff cupboard was mostly bare.
In the immediate wake of the 2021 season, the team cut ties with bench coach Dave Jauss, assistant pitching coach Jeremy Accardo, bullpen coach Ricky Bones, third base coach Gary DiSarcina, and first base coach Tony Tarasco, giving all permission to explore new employment opportunities and re-assigned assistant hitting coaches Kevin Howard and Hugh Quattlebaum within the organization.
Showalter noted during his introductory press conference that he generally doesn’t tab “buddies” for his coaching staff, alluding to making hires that best fit that particular team’s needs.
Per reports on Tuesday, the Mets have scratched a line item off that list, hiring Joey Cora as the team’s new third base coach.
Raul Ramos of Con Las Bases Full reported early Tuesday that the Mets and Cora (translated from Spanish) “have been in talks” to join Showalter’s staff in an unspecified role, hinting that an offer was already extended (“now to wait and see if [Cora] accepts”).
Later Tuesday afternoon, Mike Puma of the New York Post confirmed Ramos’ report as well as Cora’s new position with the revamped Metropolitans.
Cora, 56, spent 11 years in the majors as a player, hitting .277/.348/.369 with 1,035 hits, 171 doubles, and 117 stolen bases (90 OPS+) with the Padres, White Sox, Mariners, and Cleveland before retiring after the 1998 season. He’s also the older brother of Red Sox manager Alex Cora.
After spending a year as a hitting coach in the Cubs’ minor league system (2000) and two as a manager in the Mets’ organization (Kingsport, 2001 and 2002; succeeded by Mookie Wilson in 2003), Cora was tabbed by former White Sox teammate and then-ChiSox manager Ozzie Guillen to join his staff as a coach in 2003, eventually rising to bench coach in 2006 (after winning World Series title in 2005).
Cora reunited with Guillen as his bench coach with the Marlins immediately following their respective dismissals from Chicago at the end of the 2011 season, sticking in Miami through 2015 before latching on in Pittsburgh, first as their Double-A manager (Altoona, 2016) before being elevated to the role of Pirates’ third base coach from 2017 through last season.
Nice start. New pod drops tomorrow. Keep it locked.
Never any paywalls. Once it leaves my head, it’s yours. If you want to pay me for my work, it’s greatly appreciated.
Become a paid subscriber below, or if you enjoyed the story, drop a buck or two in our Venmo account (@TheAppleNYM)