Former Astros hitting coach poised to get ultimate revenge after being scapegoated

The 2025 season going south for the Houston Astros did not have just one cause. There were a number of key players that had subpar seasons on both sides of the ball (looking at you, Jose Altuve, Christian Walker, and Cam Smith), and injuries obviously took a massive toll on Houston's roster. Sometimes, the baseball gods are simply not on your side, but that did not keep the Astros from trying to pin the blame on someone.

There was a brief moment after the season where the blame from owner Jim Crane was ultimately going to fall on general manager Dana Brown and/or manager Joe Espada, but they appear safe for the moment. Unfortunately, the coaching staff did get purged in the aftermath, including Troy Snitker, who clearly was seen as at least partially at fault for Houston's offensive struggles.

Well, Snitker may end up getting the last laugh as he was just hired to be the Mets' hitting coach, and that sets the stage for the Astros to look really, really bad here.

Troy Snitker's new job could come back to haunt the Astros

In a lot of ways, the Mets' offense in 2025 underperformed similarly to Houston. While their offense ranked highly in the regular season, it was very top-heavy in terms of production, with Juan Soto, Pete Alonso, and Francisco Lindor doing most of the heavy lifting. If Yordan Alvarez, Jeremy Peña, and Jake Meyers had not gotten hurt, the Astros' numbers might have looked very close.

Where the two teams differ is that Houston usually takes a very measured approach to roster additions, primarily due to self-imposed spending restrictions, while the Mets will throw money at anyone with a pulse. Before the last couple of seasons, Snitker was seen as one of the better up-and-coming coaches in all of baseball. If he can immediately help the Mets (who could lose Alonso in free agency) become more consistent on offense, that would be terrible optics for the Astros.

However, this is the choice Houston made, and that came with the risk that they cast out true coaching talent in the name of PR appeasement. A strong season from the Mets' offense with Snitker running the show could easily mean that both Brown and/or Espada may not be able to avoid the axe next time.