The Nationals have informed bench coach Tim Bogar, third base coach Gary DiSarcina, assistant hitting coach Pat Roessler that their contracts will not be renewed in 2024, per Britt Ghiroli of The Athletic, who also reports that first base coach Eric Young Jr. will not be returning to the club next season. The changes to the big league coaching staff come on the heels of the club significantly overhauling their front office and minor league coaching staffs earlier this month. Despite the many changes in personnel, both manager Dave Martinez and president of baseball operations Mike Rizzo will return in 2024 after receiving multi-year extensions midseason.
The changes come on the heels of another difficult season in D.C. The club took some steps forward with solid seasons from Josiah Gray, MacKenzie Gore, and Jake Irvin in the rotation with the likes of Lane Thomas, Stone Garrett, and CJ Abrams providing hope for the future on offense, but the team still has a long way to go before it can hope to return to contention. While the club’s 71-91 record in 2023 was their best season by winning percentage since the club’s unlikely World Series championship back in 2019 and certainly an improvement over a 107-loss 2022, it still left the club to finish last in the NL East for the third consecutive season, a whopping 33 games behind the division-leading Braves and 13 games out of a playoff spot.
Bogar, 56, began his lengthy coaching career throughout the major and minor leagues back in 2004. His first big league opportunity came as a coaching assistant to then-Rays manager Joe Maddon in 2008, and he has since coached at the major league level for the Red Sox, Rangers, and Mariners in addition to the Nationals, including a stint as interim manager in Texas. Bogar also served as a special assistant in the Angels front office during the 2015 season.
DiSarcina, 55, has been with the Nationals as third base coach for two seasons. Prior to arriving in Washington, he served as bench and third base coach for the Mets, bench coach for the Red Sox, and third base and first base coach for the Angels throughout his major league coaching career, which began in 2014. Prior to his time in the big league dugout, he served as a manager in the minor leagues and special assistant in the Angels’ front office.
Roessler, 63, has been the club’s assistant hitting coach since 2020. Prior to joining the Nationals, he served as assistant hitting coach with the Mets from 2015-2017 before being promoted to hitting coach in 2018. He also acted as hitting coach for the Expos during the 2000 and 2001 seasons with stints in the White Sox, Yankees, Pirates, and Astros organizations in various roles throughout his lengthy baseball career, which began in 1988.
Young, 38, began working as first base coach in Washington prior to the 2022 season. It was his first big league coaching job, though he had spent 2021 as a coach at the Triple-A level for the Mariners after retiring from his playing career in 2020.
Gary D had a nice career!
Bogar, Gary Di and Roessler all with ties to the Mets, who are hunting for a new manager. Bogar was a serious candidate at one time in the past. If I read that any of these re-treads are “in the mix” for the job in Queens, I will lose my mind.
Hard pass on all these names. Please.
How would these guys be re-treads if they have never been managers before? But if they are getting let go by the Nats, I don’t think even the Mets would be looking to hire them.
– @raydh — I referred to them as re-treads because Mets beat writers have circulated their names as potential Met manager candidates in the past.
I am hopeful Stearns will run the Mets differently, but just because they were let go by the Nats wouldn’t stop the previous administrations from considering them as potential candidates.
Do the Nationals feel like they’ve been four closed on?
I’d like to see DiSarcina as part of the Angels coaching staff.
Are the Nats closing shop? Or merging with the Red Sox?
Nationals continue to decimate their baseball operations staff. Is it in preparation to sell?
But amazingly, Martinez stays. Yes, that was sarcasm.
DiSarcina was terrible as a third base coach. Otherwise these firings are strange. Although both Rizzo and Martinez were extended, it seems like the ownership hired some consultants and embarked on a passive-aggressive purge of most of their assistants. Very peculiar.
“What would you say you DO here?” – Bob Slydell
Three years of last place finishes? I don’t think so!!!! ’24 is all about 5 in 5.
Bogar and Gary D should be approached by Boston. Bogar was there before, anyways, and had the misfortune of working with Bobby Valentine.
Ben Cherington of the Bucs should take note and dump his worthless manager and the hitting coach
Nationals ownership is now assigning all coaching positions to Stephen Strasburg.
The Nationals, in the past, have shown they will spend money to bring in high dollar players. However, they nickel and dime everywhere else- from coaches, managers, broadcasters, etc.
Unless there were personality clashes with the coaches and the players, it’s a pity that these guys lost their jobs. MLB coaches work, by comparison to the managers and players,, for what amounts to berry picker wages.
And if some of the young pitchers and hitters improved in 2023, wouldn’t it be reasonable to assume the coaches helped?
Abrahms became a demon on the basepaths. I would guess Eric Young might have had something to do with that.