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The Mets’ decision to retain Jeremy Hefner as pitching coach this week before hiring a president of baseball operations and manager, while less than ideal, was probably the right call.

Hefner had a 2022 club option in his contract that needed to be picked up before the end of the month or he would have become a free agent. The 35-year-old former Mets pitcher is considered a rising star within the industry who would have been difficult to replace.

Under Hefner’s guidance, the Mets pitching staff finished ninth in MLB with a 3.90 ERA this season. Considering it was a staff that lost Jacob deGrom for the entire second half and never had a fully healthy Carlos Carrasco, in addition to other injuries that forced the Mets to scramble for arms, the pitching department had to be considered a success.