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It sounds new and innovative. In addition to a newly promoted pitching coach and a bullpen coach, the Mets have added a "pitching strategist," to quote Brodie Van Wagenen, to individualize game plans every day for every pitcher, based on the latest in analytical trends and information.

However, according to multiple sources, it's not really all that new either in baseball or the Mets' organization.

Two sources, in fact, said that previous pitching coaches Dan Warthen and Rick Peterson, whose tenures spanned the period of 2003-2017, both did such work, using video and analytics, as part of their job.

"There's more information now, but it's nothing the Mets haven't done before," was the way one person put it.

Dave Eiland, who was fired on Thursday, didn't make as much use of analytics as the previous coaches, or as much as Van Wagenen wanted, as the GM made pretty clear while announcing the changes in Chicago on Thursday.

And in Phil Regan the Mets have promoted an 82-year-old pitching coach who is said to have a great rapport with many of the current major leaguers, based on their years working with him in the minors when he was a roving instructor, but little experience with analytics.

Thus the creation of a pitching strategist, a job that will be filled by 37-year-old Jeremy Accardo, a former major league reliever who has earned strong reviews for his work as the Mets' minor-league pitching coordinator the last two years.

"Jeremy's a very bright, knowledgeable guy," Mets rookie-league manager Rich Donnelly told me on Friday. "Some guys, they've just got it. He's one of those guys."

So even if it's not all that new, adding Accardo to the major-league staff can't hurt, it seems.

For that matter, while everyone I spoke to had mostly good things to say about the job Eiland did as pitching coach, there does seem to be a sense that he didn't do enough to help some of the young pitchers on the major-league staff.

"Some guys were looking for direction, based on what pitches they should be throwing more of, that type of thing," one person said. "That's not Dave's thing. And (fired bullpen coach) Chuck Hernandez wasn't good with that either.

"That's where the analytics can help, especially with young guys. It gives them an idea of what works for them, when they should be throwing their fastball, their breaking ball, all that stuff. Some guys should benefit from this, especially if Jeremy can communicate it well to Phil and Ricky (Bones, the new bullpen coach)."

According to Donnelly, the 72-year-old minor league manager who coached for years in the majors as part of Jim Leyland's staffs in Pittsburgh and Florida, Accardo will do just that.

"As the minor-league pitching coordinator he was on top of everything," Donnelly said. "I ran extended spring training (before the short-season leagues began), and we had 42 pitchers there, plus some guys on rehab, in addition to the pitchers at the other minor league levels. Jeremy mapped out the plan for every one of those pitchers on a daily basis, and he was communicating with me and all of the other minor league managers every day about pitch counts, usage, everything.

"I've been very impressed with him. It's not an easy job for anybody, especially for Jeremy with what he has going on at home with his daughter."

Donnelly explained that Accardo has a 7-year-old daughter who was diagnosed with stomach cancer and is currently undergoing chemotherapy.

"It's been tough on the family," Donnelly said, "but he texted me on Monday to say the chemotherapy is working. It's great news."

Donnelly lost a daughter to brain cancer, a tragedy that led to him writing a book, "The Chicken Runs at Midnight" that has received national attention, and as such he has become someone Accardo has leaned on for support.

"We've talked at length about it," Donnelly said. "I wish I had all the answers but I don't. It's a helpless feeling for a parent. Jeremy has done an amazing job dealing with everything. I'm sure he'll be great with his new job."

Another person in the organization said he thought the new set-up could help improve the bullpen performance, in particular, because "Phil has a great feel for mechanics and now Jeremy will be able to give guys information they're looking for."

Of course, the same person said he didn't understand why Van Wagenen couldn't have simply added Accardo to the major-league staff without firing Eiland:

"I think it would have accomplished pretty much the same thing."

It wouldn't have had the shock effect, however. And for a GM who has to be feeling the heat for making wrong moves in constructing the 2019 Mets so far, that can't be dismissed as a factor.

In any case, Van Wagenen isn't re-inventing the job of pitching coach. But it's also possible he's improving the overall performance with the addition of the guy he's calling a pitching strategist.

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