Mets fire Tampa Bay area duo from coaching staff

A pair of Tampa Bay area products on the New York Mets staff have been fired, and the club is replacing one of them with a guy who made his major-league debut in 1960.

Pitching coach Dave Eiland and bullpen coach Chuck Hernandez were dismissed Thursday, the Mets announced.

Taking Eiland’s place is 82-year-old Phil Regan, who pitched for 13 seasons before getting into coaching at various collegiate and professional levels since 1973, including a stint as Orioles manager in 1995. He also served as pitching coach for the Mets’ Class A St. Lucie affiliate from 2009 to 2015 in the Florida State League.

Eiland, a former Zephyrhills High and USF pitcher, was hired as pitching coach after the Mets named Mickey Callaway the manager following the 2017 season. Eiland, 52, was dismissed after leading Mets starters to a 4.27 ERA this season, ranked 13th in the majors, in his second year with the team.

The pitching staff as a whole has a 4.67 ERA, ranked 20th in the majors and third-worst in the National League.

Hernandez, a former Tampa Catholic pitcher, had a short-lived stay in New York, hired as bullpen coach on Dec. 9, 2018. The bullpen is ranked second-to-last in the majors with a 5.38 ERA. Hernandez, 58, has been a pitching coach with five different major-league teams, including the Devil Rays (2004-05).

The Mets also named Ricky Bones the interim bullpen coach and Jeremy Accardo to the newly created role of pitching strategist.