Braves poach two key Mets coaches for Walt Weiss' staff, featuring highly successful pitching coach

The Atlanta Braves are starting to make moves regarding their managerial position. Earlier this week, it was announced that bench coach Walt Weiss would be the team’s next manager — a choice that wasn’t necessarily expected as time went on.

“The Atlanta Braves hired Walt Weiss as manager Monday, turning to their longtime bench coach in hopes of a turnaround after they missed the playoffs for the first time in seven years. Weiss, 61, managed the Colorado Rockies from 2013 to 2016, going 283-365 and never finishing higher than third place. He inherits a talented Braves team that finished 76-86 and was ravaged by injuries,” ESPN’s Jeff Passan wrote.

The Braves went through a month-long process to hire Weiss, which raised questions among insiders about whether he was the team’s first choice.

“I respect Anthopoulos saying it takes a long time to do due diligence when selecting a manager. But it’s still hard to understand why it took a month to make an internal hire when we all assumed this season would be Snit’s last,” Braves insider Mark Bowman said.

On Wednesday, Weiss bolstered his staff by bringing in two coaches from the rival New York Mets.

“Braves hired Jeremy Hefner as pitching coach. Hefner, 39, spent past 6 seasons with Mets, who had MLB's 6th-best ERA in that span. They also hired Antoan Richardson, 42, as 1st-base coach. He spent past 2 seasons in that role with Mets and was also OF & baserunning instructor,” The Athletic’s David O’Brien wrote.

Hefner is a significant addition for the pitching staff, and the hope is he can help keep the pitchers healthy as the season progresses. As for Richardson, he’s a former Braves player, so the move makes perfect sense.

The Braves are hungry to return to the playoffs, and the front office is making it clear they aren’t holding back. These moves indicate that Atlanta is willing to do whatever it takes to get back to where they belong.

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