Mets poach away unheralded architect of Guardians’ recent success 

In November 2023, Stephen Vogt brought Kai Correa onto his staff to serve as the Guardians’ major league coordinator. 

And, after two successful seasons, he’s headed elsewhere, as Sports Illustrated's Pat Ragazzo reported Tuesday night that Correa will be heading to Queens to work as the Mets’ bench coach under Carlos Mendoza.

While Correa may not get the same kind of attention as Vogt or bench coach Craig Albernaz, he’s been a pivotal piece to the Guardians coaching staff over the past two years. 

Correa’s journey with Cleveland started in 2018 when the Guardians hired him to coach minor leaguers at the spring training complex in Arizona. The Giants hired him in 2020 to serve as their bench coach and infield instructor ahead of the 2020 season, and he served as the team’s interim manager in 2023 after Gabe Kapler was fired. 

Mets steal Kai Correa away from Stephen Vogt's coaching staff

He interviewed for their open managerial position, but wasn’t hired, which led to him ending up in Cleveland. 

As pointed out by Cleveland.com’s Joe Noga, the Guardians have finished in the top 10 in Defensive Runs Saved since Correa entered the fold along with finishing near the top of the league in infield defense. 

Meanwhile, the Mets ranked in the middle of the pack in Defensive Runs Saved and had the 10th-worst Outs Above Average mark in baseball, so Correa should have his work cut out for him. 

While Vogt said after the season that he was hoping to run things back with his coaching staff from 2025, he also acknowledged that some members of his staff were going to generate some interest across the league. 

We got a tangible example of that on Tuesday with Correa heading to New York. The Mets led the National League East for most of 2025 before collapsing as the season went on. They ended up missing the postseason by one game, which led to the front office making a plethora of adjustments to their coaching staff.

“I couldn’t be more pleased with the job that this group did from the beginning of the year to now,” Vogt said after the season, per Noga. “We all stuck together. We all showed up every day helping our players get better and there’s no one else I’d rather do it with.”

It also sets up a busy offseason for the Guardians. While they made their first move of the season by re-signing Austin Hedges to a one-year contract on Tuesday, they still have plenty of moves to make in regard to their major league roster along with having (at least) one coaching vacancy to fill.