Mets Poach Valued Assistant Pitching Coach From Yankees’ Staff

The Mets are hiring Desi Druschel, who served as the Yankees' assistant pitching coach for the past three seasons.

Jul 13, 2022; Atlanta, Georgia, USA; A detailed view of a New York Mets hat and glove in the dugout against the Atlanta Braves in the eighth inning at Truist Park. Mandatory Credit: Brett Davis-Imagn Images / Brett Davis-Imagn Images

New York Mets president of baseball operations David Stearns recently confirmed that the team's entire coaching staff for 2024 would return in the same roles for 2025, though that did not stop the organization from adding a new voice to the mix.

On Monday, SNY’s Andy Martino reported that the Mets are hiring assistant pitching coach Desi Druschel away from the New York Yankees. Druschel will step into the same role with the Mets, working under pitching coach Jeremy Hefner, who did not have an assistant in 2024.

Mets nab a value coach from Yankees' staff, assistant pitching coach Desi Druschel, per league sources.

— Andy Martino (@martinonyc) November 11, 2024

Druschel, who served as the Iowa Hawkeyes' pitching coach in 2017, previously held the position of director of operations for the university’s baseball program. He joined the Yankees organization in 2019 and became part of the major league staff in 2022 under pitching coach Matt Blake. The move reunites Druschel with Mets manager Carlos Mendoza, who spent time as the Yankees’ bench coach before taking the job in Queens last offseason.

Over Druschel’s three seasons in the Bronx, Yankees pitchers posted a combined 3.68 ERA, ranking fourth in Major League Baseball behind only the Houston Astros, Los Angeles Dodgers, and Seattle Mariners. By comparison, the Mets had a collective 3.96 ERA in 2024, which ranked 15th in the league.

When Druschel was promoted to the Yankees' big league staff in December 2021, University of Iowa head baseball coach Rick Heller told Brendan Kuty (formerly of NJ Advance Media, now with The Athletic) that Druschel’s expertise goes well beyond analytics. Heller described him as a "constant learner" who is always ahead of the curve and has a unique ability to get a "buy-in" from his players.

For the past few seasons, the Yankees have excelled at identifying under-the-radar pitchers through free agency, waivers, and trades, and transforming them into valuable assets. In 2024, they converted struggling journeyman starter Luke Weaver into a dominant shutdown closer by simplifying his lower half mechanics to a slide step on every pitch and adjusting his fastball and changeup grips.

Lance Brozdowski, a player development analyst at Marquee Sports Network, the regional sports network for the Chicago Cubs, praised Druschel as “one of the best in the industry” in a Twitter/X post on Monday, highlighting his deep knowledge of pitch design and seam orientation optimization.

Desi is a killer get for the Mets.

Considered one of the best in the industry from a pitch design and seam orientation optimization standpoint.

Have been lucky enough to have a few convos with him, learned something each time. https://t.co/0iDSQUSdAn

— Lance Brozdowski (@LanceBroz) November 11, 2024

Along with Hefner, Druschel will work with a pitching staff that is expected to undergo significant changes heading into 2025. Several notable pitchers—Sean Manaea, José Quintana, Luis Severino, Adam Ottavino, Ryne Stanek, Drew Smith, and Brooks Raley—became free agents at the end of the season, leaving multiple vacancies in both the starting rotation and bullpen.