The Nationals are bringing veteran big league coach Gary DiSarcina aboard as their new third base coach, reports Jesse Dougherty of the Washington Post (Twitter thread). They’re also bringing assistant hitting coach Pat Roessler back in that same role.
The 53-year-old DiSarcina had a 12-year playing career as a shortstop with the Angels, appearing in the big leagues each season from 1989-2000. He spent time in the Halos’ front office and then as a minor league manager in the years following his retirement, but his past eight seasons have been spent on big league coaching staffs.
DiSarcina spent three years as a base coach with the Angels organization before heading to the Red Sox — where he’d previously managed in Triple-A — to serve as bench coach. His next stop came with the Mets, again as a bench coach in 2018, and then as third base coach fort he past three seasons.
Roessler, 61, has been the Nats’ assistant hitting coach in each of the past two seasons. Like DiSarcina, he’d been with the Mets prior to his time in D.C. After a lengthy stint in the Yankees’ player development department (including a run as their farm director), he joined the Mets’ coaching staff in 2015: first as an assistant hitting coach and, by 2018, as their lead hitting coach.
There’s been a fair bit of turnover on the Nationals’ staff already this offseason. Hitting coach Kevin Long departed to take the same job with the division-rival Phillies, prompting the Nats to bring Darnell Coles back to the organization to join the Major League staff in that role. Recently retired outfielder Eric Young Jr. is lined up to serve as the Nationals’ new first base coach, replacing Randy Knorr. DiSarcina will be replacing Bob Henley. Both Knorr and Henley were reassigned to player development roles earlier in the offseason.
He is one of if not the best 3rd base coach in history and this places the Nats as front runners to win division.
Sarcasm alert
DiSarcasm
angels loss.
Terrible
He’s not the best, Wash is because he also provides excellent infield coaching.
Due to the pandemic, the Mets are now asynchronous remote. No manager, no coaches, no front office, just players and an owner.
Maybe Discarcina was being paid all along by the Nationals to sabotage the Mets. How else could he have made such awful decisions
Good to see these former players still in the game. DiScarcina was a pretty decent player in the 80’s
He played 2 games in the Majors in the 80’s. In the 90’s on the other hand he was a decent glove and a true AL number 9 hitter in the lineup
And he was an awful base runner.
This fully showed this past season with the Mets. Too many runners waved home when they had no business being sent past 3rd base.
Worst third base coach ever!
Really nice guy but an incredibly stupid player. There is a reason he keeps getting hired and a reason he keeps getting fired.
Great, one of the worst 3B coaches while with the Angels
I am just glad the over-aggressive Bobby Sendley isn’t back at 3b. Glad he and Knorr are still in organization, though. They have roots back to the Expos.
The Red Sox should have hired him to work with the infielders (Devers) to improve the team defense.
He did stick his nose on the ball. It’s the only thing I liked about him.
I remember playing against him a lot in sports talk baseball for Sega. 1991 1992. He was with the angels. Don’t know why but his name always stuck out to me
I remember that game. I was a Roger Clemens MVP NES player at that time though
It’s a mystery why one of the richest owners in MLB won’t spend for top shelf coaching or manager. Mr. Lerner will drown Scott Boras with money for his clients but won’t spend an extra million on coaching. It’s not gonna break him.
Amen, brother.