The New York Mets fired pitching coach Dave Eiland and bullpen coach Chuck Hernandez, and made Phil Regan the interim pitching coach and Ricky Bones the interim bullpen coach, they announced Thursday.
Regan, 82, has been the Mets' minor league assistant pitching coordinator since 2016 after spending 2009-15 as the pitching coach for St. Lucie of the Florida State League. Regan, a major-league pitcher from 1960 to 1972, was Sandy Koufax's teammate with the Dodgers.
"I've always kind of stayed in the game and done different things," he told Syracuse.com on Tuesday. "I still go to the Dominican in the winter and coach down there. I spent 20 years in Venezuela managing and coaching there. So I've kept busy all year-round. And I think it's kind of helped me keep going. I'm 82 years old now, but I don't feel it."
Bones began this year as the pitching coach for St. Lucie. He was the Mets' bullpen coach from 2012 to '18.
Eiland, 52, was in his second season as the Mets' pitching coach. Hernandez was in his first season with the team.
The Mets entered Thursday with a 4.67 ERA, third worst in the National League. The vaunted pitching trio of Jacob deGrom (3.26 ERA), Noah Syndergaard (4.55) and Zack Wheeler (4.94) all have struggled this season.