NEW YORK — First-base coach Antoan Richardson’s departure from the Mets organization was not due to a lack of desire to return to Queens, Richardson said Wednesday, but because of “different thoughts on my value.”
Richardson, whom the Braves hired to be their first-base coach in a lateral move that the team announced Wednesday, negotiated with the Mets on a return. But the two sides could not agree on his compensation. During the process, Richardson spoke with various clubs about first-base coach and bench coach opportunities, before landing with the Braves.
“During the negotiation process, we weren’t fully aligned on how we viewed my value,” Richardson said in a statement. “I have great respect for their process and the conversations we had.”
Reached by telephone on Wednesday, Richardson added: “I think this narrative of me not wanting to be a Met, that’s kind of bogus. I think ‘doing everything you can to keep somebody’ is relative.”
The Mets’ first-base coach from 2023-24, Richardson played a major role in their stolen base renaissance this past season, which included a National League-high-tying total of 38 from Juan Soto — more than triple his previous career high. Richardson was one of the only Mets coaches to survive the team’s staff purge in October, which included the departures of pitching coach Jeremy Hefner, hitting coaches Eric Chavez and Jeremy Barnes, third-base coach Mike Sarbaugh, bench coach John Gibbons and catching instructor Glenn Sherlock.
But subsequent negotiations between Richardson and the Mets revealed a rift.
“I’m going to miss a lot of people in the room, in the clubhouse,” Richardson said. “I built a lot of really good relationships. It’s tough to leave, but that’s the nature of the game we live in and the business that we live in.”
Hefner also moved to the Braves, who announced Wednesday that he will be their new pitching coach.
