Craig Bjornson

Craig Michael Bjornson (born February 14, 1969) is an American former professional baseball player and current coach. He was recently the bullpen coach for the New York Mets of Major League Baseball (MLB). Bjornson previously coached for the Houston Astros and Boston Red Sox.

Career Bjornson attended Tucson High School in Tucson, Arizona, and Nicholls State University, where he played college baseball for the Nicholls State Colonels baseball team. He signed as an undrafted free agent with the Houston Astros in 1991. He played in the Astros' minor league organization as a pitcher until 1993, pitching for the Gulf Coast Astros, Burlington Astros, Asheville Tourists, Auburn Astros, and Quad Cities River Bandits. In total, he had a 9-18 win–loss record with a 3.82 earned run average in 81 appearances (27 starts) with a complete game and three saves. Following the hiring of Bo Porter as manager for the 2013 season, Bjornson was reassigned as a roving pitching instructor and replaced as bullpen coach by Dennis Martínez. The Astros reinstated Bjornson as their bullpen coach for the 2014 season. Bjornson served as the bullpen coach for the Astros during the 2017 season, when they won their first World Series title.

On November 12, 2017, the Boston Red Sox hired Bjornson as their bullpen coach. In October 2020, the team declined to renew his contract.

On January 21, 2022, Bjornson was hired by New York Mets as the bullpen coach. He was let go after the season and was hired by the Atlanta Braves to be the pitching coach for the Triple-A Gwinnett Stripers.

In 2026, Bjornson rejoined the Rockies organization as a pitching coach for the Albuquerque Isotopes.