Feb 28 2021 03:18 PM
The Mets seemed to drag their feet on announcing minor league coaching assignments this year. All of the staff positions are usually assigned by January, but this year there had been nothing, and while the MRC staff was working under the assumption that last year's staffs were still in place, considering that they never got any game action in. Even if this assumption were relatively safe, even those holdovers would be minus the 25% of jobs disappearing with 25% of the roster spots. Further complicating the assumption is the demotion of St. Lucie, and the triple promotion of Brooklyn.
There we were, all mostly in camp before finally a press release on the Binghamton squad.
Indeed held over is Lorenzo Bundy, who had been hired to manage Bingo before the lockdown, and hopefully finally gets some game action in 2021. He comes with 16 years of skippering behind in Mexico, the Dodger organization, and the Expo system.
Former Met Jonathan Hurst begins his 16th year as a Mets pitching instructor. It'll be his third season with Binghamton, depending on whether you count 2020 or not. I guess you should. I mean, he got paid, and pitchers got instructed.
Bruce Fields takes over as hitting coach. The former big leaguer coached the team-then-known-as-the-Indians back in 2011 and had been a hitting coordinator in the Tigers system. He replaces Tony Jamarillo — the nephew of legendary big league hitting instructor Rudy Jamarillo — who had been with Bingo for two seasons. it is unclear if Jammy will continue in the system. You may remember him from such movies as "The 2019 St. Lucie Mets"!
Assisting Bundy as bench coach will be Joe Raccuia. Rac joins the Mets after 13 seasons as a college head coach, perhaps indicating a trend by the Mets of shopping for minor league skippers from the ranks of the NCAA from which they also plucked St. John's skipper Ed Blankmeyer last winter to manage a Brooklyn season that never happened. He joined the organization last season after
Raccuia replaces veteran Mets instructor Luis Rivera, who may or may not still be with the organization, but is perhaps tired of getting confused with Luis Rojas. Rivera has passed through Bingo a few times now, as a player and as a coach.
Trainer Kiyoshi Tada returns for his 12th year in the organization, and third-ish with Binghamton. He is joined by performance coach Dylan Cintula who comes to the Mets from the Angels system, but was with the University of Michigan football program before that, so may have some Barwis cooties attached to him.
