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Hensley Meulens

Rockies Fire Hitting Coach Hensley Meulens, Clint Hurdle Named Replacement

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The Rockies announced that hitting coach Hensley Meulens has been relieved of his duties. Special assistant to the general manager Clint Hurdle has been named hitting coach for the remainder of the season.

It’s an unusual move, as coaching changes don’t usually happen so early in a season. There’s no denying that the results haven’t been pretty for the club in the early going. They are currently 3-15, the worst record in the majors. Their team-wide batting line of .220/.285/.344 translates to a 65 wRC+, also worst in the majors.

But that’s not exactly a surprising development. The club finished the past two seasons with more than 100 losses and did very little to improve the team in the winter. They are one of the few clubs that came into the 2025 season with no real hopes of contending. It would be hard to lay all of the blame on the hitting coach when the roster mostly features unestablished young players and veteran journeymen.

Presumably, the Rockies once felt that Meulens was the right guy to help their young hitters develop. If not, then they probably should have made this move in the winter as opposed to 18 games into the campaign. Perhaps more information will come to light and help put this into context, but for now, it’s a bit of a head-scratcher.

Meulens, 57, played in the majors from 1989 to 1998. After his playing days ended, he pivoted to a coaching career, starting in the minor leagues. He got his first major league coaching gig in 2010 when he became the hitting coach of the Giants. That club won the World Series three times while he was in the dugout. He then had stints as the bench coach for the Mets and assistant hitting coach for the Yankees before joining the Rockies as hitting coach ahead of the 2023 season.

Hurdle, 67, also has a lengthy baseball track record. He played in the majors from 1977 to 1987. He quickly pivoted to a managerial career, getting started with some minor league work after his playing days ended. He joined the Rockies organization in 1994, working as a minor league instructor, and eventually got the big league skipper job in 2002. He held that role for many years and was at the helm for the club’s run to the World Series in 2007, though he was fired partway through the 2009 season.

He served as the Rangers’ hitting coach in 2010 and then got another managerial job a year later, joining the Pirates for the 2011 campaign. He skippered the Pirates through 2019, steering the club to their only three postseason appearances this millenium, which were from 2013-2015. He returned to the Rockies as a special assistant to the general manager in November of 2021 but is now set to return to the dugout.

Photo courtesy of Allan Henry, Imagn Images

Rockies Notes: Profar, Bard, Hollowell

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Jurickson Profar made his Rockies debut in today’s 3-1 loss to the Padres, and as fate would have it, Profar’s first game with his new team happened to be against his former team.  Playing with the Padres “was everything to me,” Profar told Jeff Sanders of the San Diego Union-Tribune, and seemed to express some regret over opting out of his $7.5MM player option to stay with the Padres in 2023.  “If I was a normal free agent, not opting out, it’s different.  Opting out and free agency taking that long, I always wanted to stay….I didn’t want to (opt out), but I did,” Profar said.

The entry into free agency took a long time to resolve, as Profar didn’t reach an agreement with Colorado until March 19 on a one-year, $7.75MM deal.  Rockies hitting coach Hensley Meulens was a key recruiter in the process, as Meulens has been a longtime mentor to Profar dating back to the earliest days of his baseball career in Curacao, and Meulens managed Profar as part of the Netherlands’ team in the World Baseball Classic.  Profar is looking forward to now joining Meulens in the majors, and getting off a fresh start with his new organization.

More from the Mile High City, as the Rockies are 2-2 following their split of the season-opening series with the Padres…

  • Manager Bud Black told media (including MLB.com) that Daniel Bard threw a bullpen on Saturday, and hit 96mph during the session.  It’s a positive sign for the veteran reliever, who began the 2023 campaign on the 15-day injured list due to a return of the anxiety issues that put Bard’s career on hold for several seasons.  There isn’t yet any timetable for Bard’s return, as naturally the Rockies will give him all the time he needs.
  • The Triple-A Albuquerque Isotopes placed Gavin Hollowell on the 10-day minor league IL today, and Danielle Allentuck of the Denver Gazette (Twitter link) reports that the right-hander is dealing with forearm tightness.  While the severity of the injury isn’t yet known, any sort of forearm issue is naturally troubling for a pitcher, and it adds to a tough week of news for Hollowell — Allentuck notes that he just missed out on a spot in Colorado’s Opening Day bullpen.  A sixth-round pick for the Rockies in the 2019 draft, Hollowell made his MLB debut last season, posting a 7.71 ERA in seven innings over six appearances.  MLB Pipeline ranks Hollowell as the 24th-best prospect in the Rockies’ farm system, and feels the 6’7″ reliever’s strikeout potential gives him promise, though his control is a work in progress.

Rockies Hire Hensley Meulens, Warren Schaeffer To Coaching Staff

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The Rockies announced the final two members of their coaching staff, with Hensley Meulens coming to Colorado as the new hitting coach and Warren Schaeffer hired as the new third base/infield coach.

Meulens is a newcomer to the somewhat infamously insular Rockies organization, though his season as a player with the 1998 Diamondbacks and his long stint on the Giants’ coaching staff makes him a familiar face in the NL West.  After a lengthy playing career in the majors, Japan, South Korea, Mexico, and independent ball, Meulens worked in the minor leagues as a coach with the Orioles, Pirates, and Giants before being promoted to San Francisco’s MLB staff prior to the 2010 season.  Meulens worked as a hitting coach and bench coach over his decade on the Giants’ staff, earning three World Series rings along the way.

Since leaving the Giants, Meulens was the Mets’ bench coach in 2020 and then the Yankees’ assistant hitting coach in 2022.  The 55-year-old Meulens will now be tasked with replacing Dave Magadan as the Rockies’ hitting coach, and reinvigorating a Colorado lineup that (despite the thin air of Coors Field) has been average at best over the last few seasons.  In particular, Meulens will be the latest coach to challenge the problem of how to stabilize the wide home/away splits that many Rockies players have, as they adjust to playing in and out of the thin air.

The Rockies re-assigned former third base/infield coach Stu Cole to a new role in the organization, opening the door for Schaeffer’s first job on a big league staff.  Schaeffer was a 38th-round pick for the Rockies in the 2007 draft, and after six seasons as a minor league player, he became a coach and manager in Colorado’s farm system.  Over the last three seasons, Schaeffer has managed the Rockies’ Triple-A affiliate, and also worked as a third base coach and infield instructor in the same job.

Yankees Hire Hensley Meulens As Assistant Hitting Coach

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The Yankees are bringing a familiar face back to New York as the team’s new assistant hitting coach, as the club announced that Hensley Meulens has been hired for the job. (The Curacao Chronicle first reported Meulens’ appointment over the weekend). The position has been briefly filled by Eric Chavez earlier this winter, before Chavez left the Yankees to become the Mets’ chief hitting coach.

Meulens is no stranger to the Bronx, as he spent five of his seven MLB seasons playing with the Yankees (from 1989-93).  He was also one of the candidates interviewed for the last Yankees’ managerial vacancy, before the club hired Aaron Boone in December 2017.

After the Yankees parted ways with former hitting coaches Marcus Thames and P.J. Pilittere after the season, Yankees GM Brian Cashman said he planned to add a third hitting coach to the mix, a nod to the recent trend for larger and more specialized coaching staffs around baseball.  Dillon Lawson was promoted to the role of hitting coach and Casey Dykes was named assistant, and since neither Lawson or Dykes played pro ball, New York was reportedly focused on hiring a former Major League veteran to add some on-field experience to the staff.  Chavez fit the description, and Meulens brings both his playing experience as well as a lengthy coaching resume.

Meulens spent 10 seasons on the Giants’ coaching staff, serving as both the hitting coach and bench coach under Bruce Bochy.  Meulens also spent a single season as the Mets’ bench coach in 2020, and spent time as a coach in the minors in the Orioles and Pirates organizations from 2003-2008.

This resume has put Meulens on the radar for several managerial openings over the years, as he interviewed with not only the Yankees, but also the Twins, Reds, Mets, Red Sox and Giants over the years.  Given his long stint in San Francisco, there was some sense that Meulens could be Bochy’s heir apparent in the manager’s job, though he moved onto his bench coach role with the Mets after the Giants instead opted to hire Gabe Kapler as skipper.

Hensley Meulens Out As Mets’ Bench Coach

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The Mets will have a new bench coach in 2021, as the club informed Hensley Meulens that he will not return to their staff, according to Bob Nightengale of USA Today.

It was a short stint with the Mets for Meulens, a longtime San Francisco assistant who spent just one year with his new club. Before his hiring as a bench coach last offseason, the Mets and the Red Sox interviewed Meulens for their managerial positions. The Mets ultimately chose Carlos Beltran before quickly replacing him with Luis Rojas, though, while the Red Sox went with Ron Roenicke.

While Meulens’ time on Rojas’ staff didn’t work out, it shouldn’t be too long before the 53-year-old finds another job. Meulens, after all, is a well-respected, three-time World Series-winning assistant who speaks five languages. It’s unclear whom the Mets will tap to replace him.

Mets Reportedly Down To 3 Managerial Candidates

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It continues to look likely that the Mets’ next manager will come from within the organization. They’re deciding among a trio of in-house candidates – quality control coach Luis Rojas, bench coach Hensley Meulens and first base coach Tony DeFrancesco – for the position, Andy Martino of SNY tweets.

Rojas and DeFrancesco were also candidates for the Mets during their previous search for a manager this offseason. That concluded with the hiring of first-timer Carlos Beltran in November, but his reign came to an abrupt end when he stepped down last week over his role in the Astros’ 2017 sign-stealing scandal.

Like Beltran, neither Rojas nor Meulens has managed in the majors. The 38-year-old Rojas is the son of longtime skipper Felipe Alou, though, and has managed for the Mets at the High-A and Double-A levels. He’s coming off his first season on the team’s major league staff.

Meulens and DeFrancesco are new to their current positions in New York, though the former has a boatload of recent MLB experience as an assistant. The 53-year-old Meulens spent the previous decade as a key member of San Francisco’s staff under Bruce Bochy, coaching first base for eight years and serving as a bench coach for two.

DeFrancesco, 56, has been a Triple-A manager with multiple franchises, including the Mets from 2018-19. He was also the interim manager for the Astros in 2012.

Latest On Red Sox Managerial Search

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10:15 pm: The Red Sox have considered Mets’ bench coach Hensley Meulens for the position, reports Jon Heyman of MLB Network (via Twitter). It’s unclear if the sides have yet arranged for a formal interview. As Heyman points out, Meulens might find himself in consideration for the top job in New York as well.

8:45 pm: The Red Sox are one of three teams surprisingly on the hunt for a manager in January. Unlike the Astros and Mets, to whom some early names have been tied, Boston’s search for a skipper has been quiet the past few days.

It seems Boston may not name a replacement for Alex Cora any time soon. Speaking to reporters (including Chris Cotillo of MassLive), Red Sox CEO Sam Kennedy allowed that Boston could enter spring training without a manger in place. The Sox “would like” to have the position settled by then, Kennedy said, but it’s not a mandate. Indeed, as of Friday, the Red Sox had yet to reach out to other clubs to seek permission to interview external candidates (via Cotillo). Boston is vetting its internal candidates first, Kennedy explained (Twitter link), but the club plans to cast a wide net in its search.

If the Red Sox were to hire from within, bench coach Ron Roenicke seems a logical option. The former Brewers’ skipper has been Cora’s bench coach the past two seasons. He’s no doubt familiar with much of Boston’s current roster. (The 2018 Red Sox are themselves under investigation related to sign stealing allegations, of course, but there’s no reason to believe at this point that Roenicke will be implicated). Red Sox coaches, in fact, seem to believe Roenicke would be the frontrunner if Boston stays internal, notes Pete Abraham of the Boston Globe (Twitter link).

Former Red Sox third baseman Mike Lowell would have interest in the position, he tells Rob Bradford of WEEI, but only under a unique circumstance. Lowell’s interest would be conditional on his serving as a bridge to a Cora return in 2021. “I would love to (manage) if I knew it was just for a year and Cora was guaranteed to come back,” Lowell told Bradford. Of course, such a scenario seems far-fetched at the moment. Cora hasn’t yet been disciplined by Major League Baseball for his role in the respective sign stealing scandals, but a suspension is almost certainly forthcoming. Further, there’s no indication the organization would have interest in exploring such an arrangement.

The situation is no doubt a difficult and unexpected one for first-year chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom. The next steps for the Red Sox (and the Astros and Mets, as well) will be fascinating to follow. It seems Bloom and the rest of Boston’s front office are prepared to take their time sorting things out.

Mets Add Hensley Meulens, Tony DeFrancesco To Coaching Staff

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The Mets officially announced their coaching staff for the upcoming season, which included a few new faces in the mix.  Hensley Meulens will be the bench coach, confirming previous reports that Meulens was the favorite for the job.  Jeremy Hefner’s role as the new pitching coach was made official after news broke of his hiring two weeks ago, while Tony DeFrancesco will join the staff as first base coach.

Meulens has spent the last two seasons as the Giants bench coach, and the previous eight years as the club’s hitting coach.  That long stint in San Francisco included a brief period working with Mets manager Carlos Beltran, who played for the Giants over the last two months of the 2011 season.  The 52-year-old Meulens has long been considered as a potential manager himself, and was seen as a potential heir apparent to Bruce Bochy, though Meulens wasn’t hired after being interviewed by the Giants this fall.  Meulens also reportedly came close to joining the Marlins’ coaching staff this offseason, though he will now work in New York for the second time in his professional career — Meulens’ first five seasons as a player were spent with the Yankees from 1989-1993.

DeFrancesco has managed the Mets’ Triple-A affiliate for the last two seasons, and also interviewed for the big league managerial job before Beltran was hired.  DeFrancesco has spent the majority of his 28 seasons as a coach and manager at the minor league level, though he also worked as the Athletics’ third base coach in 2008 and briefly served as the Astros’ interim manager in 2012.

Beyond the new hires and Jeremy Accardo’s promotion from pitching strategist to assistant pitching coach, the rest of New York’s staff will return to their roles from the 2019 season.  The returning group includes hitting coach Chili Davis, assistant hitting coach Tom Slater, third base coach Gary DiSarcina, quality control coach Luis Rojas, and bullpen coach Ricky Bones.

Hensley Meulens “Strong Frontrunner” To Be Mets’ Bench Coach

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Hensley Meulens is a “strong frontrunner” to become the next bench coach for the New York Mets, though the team is not confirming any new hire decisions at this time, tweets Andy Martino of the SNY Network. Jennifer Mercedes of La Vida Baseball (via Twitter) is hearing that the Mets and their newly-hired manager Carlos Beltran are ready to tab Meulens in the role now. This level of scuttlebutt often leads to an announcement from the team, though Martino suggests nothing official is imminent.

Meulens has made the rounds the past couple of seasons as a new manager candidate, and he would come to New York highly-regarded after a defining career on the coaching staff of the San Francisco Giants. He spent the past two seasons in the same role he’ll potentially man in New York, serving as bench coach to Bruce Bochy. He was Bochy’s hitting coach from 2010 to 2017, during which time the Giants won three championships. Beltran, of course, crossed paths with Meulens during his short stint in a Giants uniform in the 2011 season.

The Marlins reportedly offered Meulens a role on Don Mattingly’s staff, with whom Meulens was a teammate for parts of five seasons from 1989 to 1993 as a player with the New York Yankees. Meulens was also in conversation with the Giants about their open managerial position before being informed recently that he was no longer in the running.

Joey Cora, Fredi Gonzalez, Jerry Narron, and Terry Collins have also been named at various times as potential candidates to assume the role of Beltran’s right-hand man. Meulens has less managerial experience than some of the other candidates listed, though he did manage the Netherlands in the World Baseball Classic in 2013 and 2017. Along with his many years under the leadership of Bochy, Meulens would presumably provide plenty of insight and guidance for the Mets’ rookie skipper.

Mets Interview Hensley Meulens For Bench Coach Position

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Former Giants assistant Hensley Meulens has a job with the Marlins if he wants it, but the division-rival Mets could prevent that union from coming to fruition. The Mets have interviewed Meulens for their vacant bench coach position, Dan Martin and Ken Davidoff of the New York Post report.

The 52-year-old Meulens, a former professional outfielder who spent most of his career in New York as a Yankee, is coming off a decade-long run as a coach with the Giants. Meulens is well-regarded for his time in San Francisco, where he was most recently its bench coach, and has drawn managerial consideration from at least a couple teams over the past few years. The Giants interviewed Meulens this fall to succeed departed manager Bruce Bochy before selecting Gabe Kapler for the role.

If the Mets end up hiring the multilingual Meulens, he’ll provide first-time manager Carlos Beltran with an experienced right-hand man. Meulens joins Joey Cora, Fredi Gonzalez and Jerry Narron as reported candidates in the running for the position. Should the Mets choose Cora, Gonzalez, Narron or someone else, Meulens figures to wind up in Miami in a role that hasn’t been announced to this point. Meulens has already signed a letter of intent to join the Marlins’ staff, but he still has the option to go elsewhere.

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