Rockies To Hire Alon Leichman As Pitching Coach
The Rockies are going to hire Alon Leichman as their pitching coach, reports Thomas Harding of MLB.com. Leichman spent 2025 with the Marlins as an assistant pitching coach. Per Isaac Azout of Fish on First, the Marlins will look to replace him.
Leichman, 36, was born in Israel and has represented that country in international play. He came to America to attend Cypress College in California in 2010. While pitching for that school’s team, he required Tommy John surgery. After recovering, he played for UC San Diego.
After his college playing days were over, he quickly pivoted to coaching in college ball. He then got jobs in the affiliated ranks, working with minor leaguers in the systems of the Dodgers and Mariners. He got a major league gig with the Reds as assistant pitching coach, holding that title in 2023 and 2024 before getting the same title with the Marlins a year ago.
The Rockies are trying to play catch-up at the moment. They clearly fell behind the rest of the league in terms of data and analytics. The big league club has been getting worse, bottoming out with a 119-loss season in 2025.
Big changes are now afoot. Manager Bud Black was fired during the 2025 campaign and was replaced by Warren Schaeffer. The Rockies parted ways with general manager Bill Schmidt at the end of the season and then pitching coach Darryl Scott not long after that. Paul DePodesta was hired as president of baseball operations and he later hired Josh Byrnes to serve under him as general manager.
Leichman’s quick rise clearly demonstrates that he is respected in the industry. Harding notes that he is fluent in Spanish and that the Marlins experimented by having him call pitches from the dugout this year. Coors Field is the most challenging environment big league pitchers face and that has been a big problem for the Rockies. The staff had a collective 5.99 earned run average this year, easily the worst in the league. The club thinks Leichman can help turn things around and perhaps he can, but given the starting point, it will probably take time.
Photo courtesy of Jim Rassol, Imagn Images
Marlins Hire Blake Lalli As Third Base Coach
The Marlins announced their 2025 coaching staff on Friday afternoon. The most notable development was the hiring of Blake Lalli as third base coach. Miami also hired Alon Leichman as assistant pitching coach and assistant pitching director, which Christina De Nicola of MLB.com first reported in December.
Lalli had a brief major league playing career. He suited up with the Cubs, Brewers and Braves between 2012-16. Lalli played parts of 12 years in the minors, including six seasons in Triple-A. He ended his playing days over the 2017-18 offseason and moved into managing. Lalli spent five years as a manager in the Arizona system, including the past two for their Triple-A club in Reno. This will be the 41-year-old’s first MLB coaching position.
Leichman, 35, has pitched and coached for the Israeli national team. He worked as a pitching instructor in the Dodgers and Seattle farm systems before getting his first MLB job with the Reds. Leichman spent two seasons as an assistant pitching coach under Derek Johnson in Cincinnati before making the move to Miami.
Clayton McCullough has an entirely new staff for his first year as a major league manager. The rest of the staff (most of which has been covered previously at MLBTR) is as follows: bench coach Carson Vitale, hitting coach Pedro Guerrero, pitching coach Daniel Moskos, first base coach Tyler Smarslok, assistant hitting coach Derek Shomon, bullpen coach Brandon Mann, catching coach Joe Singley, field coordinator Aaron Leanhardt, and performance/data integration strategist Bryson Nakamura.