The Mets are looking to add a hitting coach of some kind. It was reported yesterday that Kevin Long would be interviewed for a job. Anthony DiComo of MLB.com reports today that John Mallee is also on the list.

In 2026, the Mets had Troy Snitker as hitting coach, Rafael Fernandez as assistant hitting coach and Jeff Albert as director of hitting. Snitker and Fernandez are expected back next year but Albert is not. DiComo’s reporting today indicates the Mets aren’t sure if they are going to hire a director of hitting to work above Snitker, effectively replacing Albert, or add another assistant beneath Snitker.

Mallee played in the minors but never cracked the majors. He pivoted to coaching and has been on big league staffs for well over a decade now. He has worked as a hitting coordinator, hitting coach or assistant hitting coach for the Marlins, Astros, Cubs, Phillies and Angels.

He was the hitting coach of the Cubs from 2015 to 2017. After bouncing to a couple of other teams, he returned to the Cubs as Triple-A hitting coach in 2023. He was promoted to the big league staff as assistant hitting coach for the 2024 campaign. He has been working in that role under hitting coach Dustin Kelly for the past three seasons.

DiComo’s report suggests that Mallee developed a good relationship with Cubs center fielder Pete Crow-Armstrong, who just had a massive season. He improved his walk rate from 4.5% in 2025 to 11.4% this year. He did that while adding more power, going from 10 homers in 2024 to 31 homers last year to 45 in 2026. His wRC+ jumped from 86 to 109 to 157 over those three seasons. The Cubs as a team hit .251/.339/.428 in 2026. Their 114 wRC+ was at least three points clear of every other club in the majors.

It’s always tough to parse out the contributions of a coach from the performance of the players but the Mets are intrigued by Mallee’s track record and his work in Chicago. It’s possible there are other candidates beyond Long and Mallee.

Photo courtesy of Rick Scuteri, Imagn Images