Rockies Hire Jeff Pickler As Bench Coach
The Rockies announced the hiring of Jeff Pickler as bench coach. Thomas Harding of MLB.com reported the move before the club announcement.
Pickler, who turns 50 in January, worked as game-planning/outfield coach with the Reds from 2019-24. He’d worked under skipper David Bell during that time but was not retained when Cincinnati hired Terry Francona. Before his time in Cincinnati, Pickler spent two seasons on the Minnesota coaching staff. Harding points out that Pickler had also worked in scouting with the Diamondbacks and Padres when Josh Byrnes was general manager of those clubs. Colorado hired Byrnes as GM underneath baseball operations president Paul DePodesta a couple weeks ago.
Before entering the scouting ranks, Pickler played eight minor league seasons as an infielder. That included one season in the Rox system. Pickler finished his playing days with their Triple-A club in 2005.
The Rockies have made a handful of hirings as Warren Schaeffer enters his first full season in the managerial role. Brett Pill (hitting coach), Alon Leichman (pitching coach), Gabe Ribas (assistant pitching coach), and Matt Buschmann (bullpen coach) are also in place. Colorado had used Clint Hurdle as interim bench coach after firing skipper Bud Black in May. It’s unclear whether Hurdle will remain in the organization in 2026.
Jeff Pickler Withdraws Name From Consideration For Mets’ Bench Coach
Jeff Pickler has removed his name from consideration for the Mets’ bench coach position, per C. Trent Rosecrans of The Athletic. The Reds’ planning and outfield coach will stay with Cincinnati for 2022.
Pickler had recently been identified as one of the candidates for the position, as the Mets have been actively filling out their coaching staff in recent days. The Mets are behind most other teams in putting their coaching staff together, as they also had to make a front office hire that occupied the early part of their offseason. They eventually hired Billy Eppler as general manager in mid-November, but he had to focus on free agency with the ticking clock of the looming lockout.
Once the lockout was implemented in December and big league transactions were frozen, the club shifted their attention towards the coaching staff, with the majority of the crew from 2021 not being retained. Buck Showalter was the first piece of the puzzle, being hired as manager on December 20th. After a lull in activity around the holidays, the Mets have reportedly added first base coach Wayne Kirby, third base coach Joey Cora and hitting coach Eric Chavez in recent days.
The bench coach position remains an ongoing matter, with today’s news focused on who won’t be taking the position. Earlier today, it was reported that the Padres denied the Mets the opportunity to interview quality control coach Ryan Flaherty for the position, which would have seen him reunite with Showalter, his manager from his playing days in Baltimore.
Pickler was selected by the Brewers in the 11th round of the 1998 draft. He spent eight years in the minors for the Brewers, Rangers and Rockies before transitioning to scouting. After stints as a scout with the Diamondbacks and Padres, he joined the Dodgers in 2014 as special assistant in professional scouting and player development. The Twins hired him as a coach for 2017, with Pickler joining the Reds two years later.
It was recently reported that the Mets had a “headline-grabbing hire” lined up for their bench coach job, but that turned out to be the aforementioned Chavez, who actually settled on the hitting coach position.