Pitching coach Jeremy Hefner on board to inject energy into Braves staff

But his post-playing career, which began as a scout for the Twins in 2017, led him to the Braves after six seasons with the Mets. Hefner was hired by first-year manager Walt Weiss in November.

“The people. Quickly fell in love with the people here,” Hefner said on accepting the role with the Braves. “I think it was that, and then I’d seen the Braves for so long from the other side and had so much respect for them. High class, play the game the right way, had a lot of respect for (Weiss) and what he stands for and who he is, what type of man he is, so it was an easy decision.”

Hefner has the duality this spring of having a lot of strong pieces to work with but already having to fill one hole in the starting rotation. There’s Chris Sale, Spencer Strider, Grant Holmes and Reynaldo López penciled in as starters, and there’s Raisel Iglesias, Robert Suarez, Dylan Lee and Aaron Bummer in the bullpen. But starter Spencer Schwellenbach and reliever Joe Jiménez already are on the shelf with injuries.

The nucleus of that aforementioned group, however, is strong enough that Hefner said that he won’t be trying to reinvent the wheel.

“Because the Braves have been good for a long time, certainly don’t want to come in and change anything,” Hefner said. “More or less come alongside them and if there’s anywhere I can help or provide a different perspective, certainly wanna do that.”

The 2026 season will be the first for the Braves since 2018 without Rick Kranitz on staff. Strider said Thursday that not having the team’s longtime pitching coach around has already required an adjustment.

“Kranny was all I had in my big league career. Very grateful for him, an unbelievable person and just the conversations and the banter and just the guy that he was and being around him every day, that’s gonna be missed for sure,” Strider said. “But very excited for the new staff. Hefner’s been fantastic, so has (bullpen coach) J.P. (Martinez). Very intelligent guys. I’ve heard nothing but good things from other guys around the league that have been with them. Already enjoyed my time working with them and it’s exciting to have those guys around.”

Weiss said Thursday he did not have a previous relationship with Hefner, and Hefner told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution in December he didn’t know Weiss or Braves president of baseball operations and general manager Alex Anthopoulos. But Weiss said that the recommendations continued to pour in on Hefner during the hiring process and when a “bunch of people keep saying the same things about someone it’s probably true.”

Hefner’s ability to balance the human touch of coaching along with the analytical side, which is so important to today’s modern pitcher, is crucial, Weiss said. Hefner indicated Thursday his confidence in what he has in the cupboard is high.

“A lot of strikeouts, not a lot of walks, they pound the zone, they’re super athletic, super aggressive — all the things that you dream of as a pitching coach. A lot of these guys have those qualities," Hefner said. “So I’m not coming in to change anything. What are these little things that a slight tweak here or there, whether it’s delivery or pitch usages or whatever, and just try to help?”