Buck Showalter continues to round out his coaching staff ahead of his first year as New York Mets manager while Major League Baseball’s lockout continues.
Wayne Kirby, a former first base coach for the San Diego Padres, is expected to join the Mets at the same position, as first reported by Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic on Wednesday.
Reports of Kirby’s expected arrival came a day after it was revealed that Joey Cora is likely to take over third-base coaching duties in Queens.
They will join Jeremy Hefner — who the Mets retained as their pitching coach following the 2021 season — on Showalter’s staff.
Kirby played in eight MLB seasons, including one year with the Mets during his final professional campaign in 1998.
He caught on with the Baltimore Orioles in 2011, who were managed by Showalter at the time, as a first-base coach where he stayed through the 2018 season. He departed the club when Showalter was fired following that year.
In 2020, he was hired by the Padres and their former manager, Jayce Tingler, who also had former Orioles in Bobby Dickerson and Ryan Flaherty on his staff.
Per Rosenthal, Kirby also received interest from the Los Angeles Angels this offseason but was unable to finalize a deal with them.
