Report: Justin Willard Front Runner For Mets’ Pitching Coach
The Mets are closing in on Justin Willard as their pitching coach for the 2026 season, according to Will Sammon of the Athletic. Joel Sherman of the New York Post also reported the news from a separate source.
Willard was hired by the Red Sox in 2024 to be the director of pitching, and was widely successful during his tenure in Boston. Last season, the Red Sox finished fifth in the majors in team ERA, and saw bounce-back years from multiple pitchers, including Aroldis Chapman, Brayan Bello, and Lucas Giolito.
Willard was highlighted before the 2024 season as someone who watches hours of film, looking to maximize pitchers’ mechanics and fix biomechanical issues to better performance. Ian Browne of MLB.com spoke with him in February, where he explained his philosophy.
“Really simple: Throw nasty stuff in the zone. You can have nasty stuff, but it’s not gonna be maximized if you’re not in the zone,” said Willard. “And then vice versa. If you’re in the zone and you’re getting hit, we’ve got to develop better stuff. And I think most importantly, defining that for players and defining what the scoreboard is.”
“What’s the rulebook? I always use an example, if you’re going to play Monopoly for the first time, you’re going to read the rules to understand what the game is. For the longest time, we’ve been playing one game. That’s not what we’re playing now, and really helping players evaluate that and understand that drives buy-in and drives good questions and good conversations.”
Throwing strikes seems like a simple philosophy, but it’s one that would benefit the Mets’ organization. The Mets’ pitching staff allowed the seventh most walks (556) in the majors last season, and third in the majors in walks via starting pitchers (324).
Before his time with the Red Sox, Willard was in the Twins’ organization from 2017-2023. The Toronto native pitched in Division 2 baseball at Concord University, where he started his coaching career. He later moved on to coach at Radford University, a Division 1 school.
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