There are no major-leaguers in camp to coach right now, but the Mets have hired Danny Barnes as an assistant coach.
New Mets skipper Buck Showalter announced the hire Friday, speaking to the media at the team's minor-league mini-camp in Port St. Lucie, and said Barnes will have a "multi-faceted" role on the staff.
"He's played in the big leagues, knows his way around the major league locker room," Showalter said. "He'll help everybody, as just an assistant major league coach. We didn't get too titled up. He can do a little bit of everything."
Barnes, 32, is from Manhasset, and was Toronto's 35th-round pick in 2010 as a right-handed pitcher. He spent six-plus seasons in the minors before making his MLB debut in 2016, and over parts of three seasons in Toronto (2016-18), Barnes posted a 4.33 ERA in 120 2/3 innings over 119 relief appearances.
The righty was limited to just 8 2/3 innings in the minors in 2019 due to injury, spent the pandemic-shortened 2020 on a minor-league deal with the Orioles, and finished his career in 2021 with 16 appearances for the Long Island Ducks of the independent Atlantic League.
"He's got a great skill set," Showalter said. "We were looking for somebody to fit that role and Danny fit it perfectly. He's got a very bright future in the game. We were lucky to get him."
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