New manager Walt Weiss begins his staff shakeup by hiring Jeremy Hefner as pitching coach and Antoan Richardson as first base coach. Long-time coaches Rick Kranitz, Fredi Gonzalez, and Tom Goodwin will not return.
ATLANTA — Just two days after Walt Weiss was promoted to manager, the Atlanta Braves have announced the first significant additions to their 2026 Major League coaching staff, poaching two highly-regarded coaches from their division-rival New York Mets.
The team announced Wednesday that Jeremy Hefner will serve as the new pitching coach and Antoan Richardson will take over as the first base coach.
The hires are part of a major staff overhaul following a lackluster 2025 season. As first reported by MLB.com’s Mark Bowman, pitching coach Rick Kranitz, first base coach Tom Goodwin, and third base coach Fredi Gonzalez were informed on Monday that they will not be returning to the staff.
Kranitz, 67, departs after a successful tenure as pitching coach from 2019 to 2025.
Poaching from Queens
Both new coaches bring impressive resumes from their time in New York.
Hefner, 39, spent the previous six seasons as the pitching coach for the Mets and is well-regarded across the league. During his tenure, the Mets’ pitching staff posted the sixth-best ERA (4.02) in the National League, allowed the fourth-fewest hits, and had the fifth-most strikeouts.
Richardson, 42, served as the Mets’ first base coach, outfield coordinator, and baserunning instructor for the past two seasons. His impact on the bases was dramatic: in 2025, Mets baserunners led the league with a record-setting 89.1% stolen-base percentage. It will be interesting to see his impact on a Braves roster that includes high-level baserunners like Ronald Acuña Jr., Michael Harris II, and Ozzie Albies.
More Changes to Come
With a new manager in place, further changes are expected. While hitting coach Tim Hyers is expected to remain, the Braves still have key vacancies to fill.
Most notably, the bench coach position—held by Weiss for the previous eight seasons—is still open, as is the third base coach position.
The Braves stated that the balance of the coaching staff will be announced at a later date, though the process is not expected to take more than a few weeks.
