Here’s a roundup of coaching-related items as several teams look to revamp their bench staffs for 2015…
- The Braves considered Jim Thome for their vacant hitting coach position, but the retired slugger wasn’t interested in the job, MLB.com’s Mark Bowman reports. Atlanta’s list of hitting coach candidates includes such names as Milt Thompson and Rick Eckstein, while ex-hitting coach Terry Pendleton will likely stay as first base coach rather than return to his former position.
- Yankees special assistant Trey Hillman has spoken to the Astros about becoming the team’s bench coach, George A. King III of the New York Post reports. Hillman could also be a candidate to be the Yankees’ new first base coach or infield coach.
- The Yankees announced that hitting coach Kevin Long and first base/infield coach Mick Kelleher won’t return in 2015. Newsday’s Erik Boland speculates that former Rockies slugger Dante Bichette (one of Joe Girardi’s best friends) could be a contender to take over as hitting coach. Diamondbacks pitching coach Mike Harkey, a long-time former Yankee bullpen coach, has been rumored to be on his way back to New York to resume his old job, which could set off a shuffle of other moves — Boland says current bullpen coach Gary Tuck could become the bench coach, while Tony Pena would move from bench coach to the open first base job.
- Long will at least be discussed as a candidate for the Mets’ hitting coach job, a source tells Mike Puma of the New York Post (Twitter link).
Bichette would be interesting, since they have jr in their minors.
Funny thing is that Long’s kid is on their AA team.
He’s also a pretty good pitcher too, not a highly touted prospect, but I think he could pull a Greene and surprise a bunch of people. He was AA pitcher of the year this year as well.
I wouldn’t say pull a Greene. Greene always had great stuff and needed to put everything together. Long’s stuff is not great but he has great moxy and seems to know how to pitch and hits his spots. That package usually does not play well as you go higher, but there are some notable exceptions. It would not suprise me if Long pulls a Nuno.
Now, the division and pennant comes back to New York. A new hitting coach and first-base coach will do the trick
I’ve also heard that Chili Davis and Tino Martinez are also candidates for coaching spots.
I always had a soft spot for Tino Martinez growing up. Not a particularly flashy player and paled in comparison to most of the talent on the Yankees in that era, but he was a gritty player who came up with a lot of big hits.
Why wasn’t Robbie Thompson fired, he’s arguably the worst 3rd base coach in MLB. He has no clue when to send runners and stops them at the worst times, I wonder how many outs and runs he’s cost the Yankees over the last couple of years smh…
I know/// it was hard to tell if he was waving a player home or dealing with a rotator cuff…lol
It would not shock me to see Rob Thomson reassigned either to first base coach or within the organization. He has extensive experience in the front office, particularly in player development where the Yankees are likely making extensive changes this winter.
i agree 100%.
Thome hit a ton of home runs and walked all the time and piled up strikeouts… Which was exactly what the Braves’ offense did in 2013. I love plate discipline and power, but this organization makes such a fuss about striking out… Not saying Thome as a coach would have the same philosophy as his own career, but just ironic they would be interested in him.
It is interesting, but Thome was somewhat unusual as a power hitter and particularly a left handed power hitter–he swung hard, but waited and had a short quick stroke through the strike zone and enormous power to left center and center.
Yankees should look into Giambi as a coach of some sort.
With Arod I don’t feel sorry for the Yankees. They live by the sword; they die by the sword. If they are willing to sign players for outrageous prices and incredibly long-terms, then they should not complain when said players pass their peaks and don’t perform on the back end of their contracts.
Where were they complaining?
that would be great . kevin long stunk as a hitting coach.should have fired him last year