Braves heist over rival Mets continues to pay major dividends for Chris Sale and the rotation originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

The Atlanta Braves underwent a full coaching staff overhaul after Brian Snitker announced his retirement. The Braves ultimately chose to stay in-house, promoting bench coach Walt Weiss to become their next manager.

“The Atlanta Braves hired Walt Weiss as manager Monday, turning to their longtime bench coach in hopes of a turnaround after they missed the playoffs for the first time in seven years. Weiss, 61, managed the Colorado Rockies from 2013 to 2016, going 283-365 and never finishing higher than third place. He inherits a talented Braves team that finished 76-86 and was ravaged by injuries,” ESPN’s Jeff Passan wrote.

When Weiss assembled his staff, he prioritized young coaches who had helped improve their previous teams. One of those hires was former New York Mets pitching coach Jeremy Hefner.

“Braves hired Jeremy Hefner as pitching coach. Hefner, 39, spent past 6 seasons with Mets, who had MLB's 6th-best ERA in that span. They also hired Antoan Richardson, 42, as 1st-base coach. He spent past 2 seasons in that role with Mets and was also OF & baserunning instructor,” The Athletic’s David O’Brien wrote.

Nearly a month into the season, it appears the Braves may have pulled off a subtle “heist” from the Mets by adding Hefner.