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Mariners Promote Eric Young Jr., Louis Boyd To Major League Coaching Staff

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The Mariners announced their full 2025 coaching staff today. Most of the names are either holdovers from 2024 or were previously reported, though there were a couple of new names. Eric Young Jr. has been promoted to first base coach with Louis Boyd promoted to major league field coordinator.

Those two additions are part of a larger shuffle. Kristopher Negrón was the first base coach, but he will move over to third base coach. Last year’s third base coach Manny Acta will transition to bench coach. Brant Brown was the bench coach and offensive coordinator going into 2024 but he was fired back in May. Director of hitting strategy Jarret DeHart and assistant hitting coach Tommy Joseph expanded their roles to compensate for Brown’s departure, though DeHart was fired in August and Joseph recently hired away by the Orioles. Boyd is taking the role that Carson Vitale had last year, though it was reported this week that the Marlins are hiring him away. Adam Jude of the Seattle Times (X link) relayed the shuffling prior to the official announcement.

Young was with the M’s last year, working in the system as baserunning coordinator. He will continue working on baserunning but now gets promoted to the first base coach position in the big leagues, though it’s not his first time in that job at the MLB level. He was the Nationals’ first base coach for the 2022 and 2023 seasons. Prior to coaching, he played in the majors from 2009 to 2018.

Boyd gets a major league coaching job for the first time. He has been in the Mariners’ organization for the past six seasons, working in the minors. Most recently, he was the minor league field coordinator for the past two seasons.

Acta has been on Seattle’s staff for many years, but has shifted around to various roles. He was third base coach in 2016 and 2017, then became the bench coach for a couple of years. He went back to the third base job from 2020 to 2024 but now returns back to the bench coach gig once again. He has worked as a coach or manager in the majors since 2006, working for the Expos, Mets, Nationals and Cleveland prior to coming to Seattle.

Negrón played in the majors from 2012 to 2019 before transitioning into coaching. The M’s hired him as the assistant to the director of player development in 2020 and he served as manager at Triple-A Tacoma in 2021. He then got promoted to first base coach at the big league level for the 2022 season.

Angels Hire Ryan Goins, Eric Young Sr. To Coaching Staff

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TODAY: The Angels have indeed hired Young, as he confirmed to Alison Mastrangelo of WSB TV (X link).  “It was a hard decision, and I am definitely going to miss the [Braves] organization and more importantly the players and fans,” Young said.

NOVEMBER 11: Just a few days after joining the Angels as the club’s new manager, Ron Washington has begun assembling his coaching staff for the 2024 season, as The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal reports that recently-retired infielder Ryan Goins will join the Angels’ coaching staff as an infield coach. USA Today’s Bob Nightengale had previously linked Goins to the role.

Goins, 35, was a fourth-round pick in the 2009 draft and spent five seasons in Toronto at the major league level from 2013-17. He then spent one season with the Royals before joining the White Sox in 2019. Goins played on the south side of Chicago for two seasons and played what would ultimately be his final game at the big league level during the 2020 season. He continued his career in the minor leagues for the Braves in 2021 and 2022, overlapping with Washington’s time in Atlanta as third base coach. While he signed with the Royals on a minor league deal for the 2023 season, he did not appear in any games before ultimately retiring earlier this offseason.

In 555 career games at the big league level, Goins slashed .228/.278/.333 in addition to a scoreless inning of work on the mound back in 2016. He appeared at every position except for catcher and center field throughout his eight seasons in the majors. With his playing career in the rearview mirror, Goins is now poised to tackle the first coaching job of his career under Washington in Anaheim. In doing so, he’ll been the youth and perspective of a recent player to the staff of Washington, a 71-year-old veteran skipper who last played in the majors in 1989.

Though Goins appears to be the only official hire for Washington’s coaching staff at this point, plenty of names have already been mentioned in connection with various roles. In addition to linking Goins to his role as infield coach, Nightengale suggested that former A’s, Cubs, Red Sox, and Mets hitting coach Chili Davis could join Washington’s staff in that same role, former Rockies and Pirates manager Clint Hurdle could join as bench coach, 19-year MLB veteran Torii Hunter could be tapped as first base coach, and Braves first base coach Eric Young Sr. could join the club’s staff as third base coach.

It’s not yet clear if any of those additional names have been or will be formally hired by the Angels, though Jon Heyman of the New York Post confirmed that both Davis and Hurdle are “in the mix” to join Washington’s staff while cautioning that nothing is official yet. On the other hand, Heyman suggests that Young is “planning” to join Washington’s staff alongside Goins. Though Hunter’s candidacy for a coaching role hasn’t been corroborated elsewhere, it’s certainly reasonable to think he could be in the mix for a role given his status as a candidate for the club’s manager seat prior to the hiring of Washington.

Nationals Part Ways With Four Coaches

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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.

AL East Notes: Pedroia, Norris, Orioles

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Red Sox second baseman Dustin Pedroia will open the season on the injured list, manager Alex Cora announced to reporters today (link via WEEI’s Rob Bradford). Cora stressed that there have been no setbacks for Pedroia in his return from the knee issues that limited him to three games last season. Rather, the veteran is simply still in the process of building up to be able to handle a full workload. He’ll play in games every other day for the remainder of exhibition games before returning to extended Spring Training to continue building up strength. Pedroia, Bradford writes, feels he will be sufficiently built up but didn’t voice frustration with the team’s decision to proceed with caution. Based on his comments, it doesn’t sound like he’s looking at a particularly lengthy absence to open the year. “It’s only, I think, a week or something, the plan that they set,” said Pedroia. “If it’s being smart for a week and we make sure I respond great to everything thrown at me then it’s a good decision.”

Here’s more from the AL East…

  • After signing a late minor league deal with the Blue Jays, right-hander Bud Norris doesn’t have the benefit of a full spring audition for a roster spot, but Gregor Chisholm of MLB.com writes that Norris’ early work has impressed manager Charlie Montoyo. “He looked to me like a closer, a late-inning guy, pitching yesterday,” Montoyo said after Norris’ Jays debut, in which he struck out a pair of opposing hitters and reached the mid-90s with his fastball in a perfect inning. Righty Ken Giles is penciled in as the closer in Toronto, though Norris has no shortage of experience there after spending parts of the past two seasons as a closer in Anaheim and St. Louis, racking up a combined 47 saves in that role. He’ll reportedly earn a $3MM salary if he makes the roster.
  • Orioles skipper Brandon Hyde still isn’t ready to make any declarations about which young players will make the Opening Day roster, writes Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com. Citing the Orioles’ active approach on the waiver wire and the multiple Rule 5 players in camp, Hyde said he likely wouldn’t make any such announcements to his players until March 25. The outfield mix, several bullpen spots and the team’s catching situation have all yet to be defined. Hyde did speak well of the versatility that both Cedric Mullins and Joey Rickard bring to the outfield, though neither has received any assurances yet, and there are also non-roster options like Eric Young Jr. still in the mix for a job.

Braves Dismiss Pitching Coach Chuck Hernandez

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The Braves announced to reporters this morning that pitching coach Chuck Hernandez will not return in that role for the 2019 season (Twitter links via Gabe Burns of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution). The rest of the coaching staff is returning on new two-year contracts, which match the length of the extension inked by manager Brian Snitker earlier this morning. MLB.com’s Mark Bowman had previously tweeted that Hernandez’s spot on the coaching staff could be in jeopardy.

Though the Braves surprised with a 90-win season and a National League East division title in 2018, the team’s pitching staff was an obvious question mark down the stretch and proved to play a significant factor in the team’s early exit from the postseason. Atlanta pitchers walked an MLB-worst 10.31 percent of the hitters they faced during the regular season, and the Braves’ staff issued 27 walks in a 3-1 series loss to the Dodgers in the NLDS.

Hernandez, 57, will unsurprisingly take the fall for the staff’s inability to locate the strike zone, even if the blame can’t be solely placed on his shoulders. He spent three seasons in the Braves organization, serving as a minor league pitching coordinator in 2016 before taking the reins as the Major League pitching coach in 2o17. A baseball lifer, Hernandez began his career as a coach 33 years ago in the White Sox’ minor league system and has served on Major League staffs with the Braves, Marlins, Indians, Tigers, Rays and Angels (where he was named pitching coach at the age of 31 in 1992).

Burns notes that GM Alex Anthopoulos indicated an openness to retaining Hernandez in a different capacity (Twitter link), though it’s not clear whether Hernandez himself wants to return in a new role. Given his vast experience, he’d certainly be a candidate to land a coaching job elsewhere even after being cut loose in Atlanta, and he may simply prefer the opportunity to embark on a new challenge in another organization.

The rest of the Atlanta staff includes bench coach Walt Weiss, hitting coach Kevin Seitzer, assistant hitting coach Jose Castro, first base coach Eric Young, third base coach Ron Washington, bullpen coach Marty Reed and catching coach Sal Fasano. The Braves will presumably go outside the organization to find a new pitching coach in the coming weeks.

Angels To Sign Eric Young, Jose Miguel Fernandez

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The Angels have agreed to a minor-league deal with outfielder Eric Young, according to Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register. Likewise, the Halos struck a minors pact with infielder Jose Miguel Fernandez, Chris Cotillo of SB Nation tweets.

Young may be aging — he’ll turn 33 in May — but he has rarely been as useful as he was for the Angels in 2017. In 125 trips to the plate, the switch hitter compiled a .264/.336/.418 batting line with four home runs and a dozen steals. He also had a strong run during his time at Triple-A. As things stand, he’ll enter camp with a chance to earn his way onto the roster as a reserve.

Over parts of nine MLB campaigns, Young has compiled a lifetime .248/.316/.334 slash across 1,809 trips to the plate. His father, Eric Young Sr., made it through fifteen major league seasons before hanging up his spikes in 2006 — not long before his namesake debuted in 2009.

Meanwhile, Fernandez will come from the cross-town Dodgers, who released him after just one season in the organization. A star in his native Cuba, where he displayed unbelievable plate discipline, Fernandez had not played much competitive ball of late while trying to make his way stateside.

Fernandez ended up slashing a healthy .306/.366/.498 with 16 home runs and 24 walks against 33 strikeouts over 369 Double-A plate appearances. Evidently, though, the Dodgers did not see enough to warrant a longer look. While the Angels appear to have a fully loaded infield mix at present, Fernandez will presumably take up a spot on the depth chart.

Braves Finalize Coaching Staff; Walt Weiss Named Bench Coach

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The Braves announced a slew of changes to their coaching staff on Friday, led by the hiring of former Rockies manager Walt Weiss as the club’s new bench coach. Atlanta has also hired Eric Young Sr. as its new first base coach/outfield instructor and Sal Fasano as its new catching coach. Former bench coach Terry Pendleton and first base coach Eddie Perez have been offered new positions within the organization, according to the team’s release.

Weiss, 53, managed the Rockies from 2013-16 before Bud Black took over the club for the 2017 season. In his four years at the helm of the Rockies, the team posted an unsightly 283-365 record, though Weiss managed some clubs that had exceptionally thin pitching staffs. Weiss, the 1988 AL Rookie of the Year with the Athletics, spent the final three seasons of a 14-year Major League career with the Braves. He’s yet to serve as a coach in the Majors, but he’ll bring prior managerial experience and more than a half decade as a special adviser in the Rockies’ front office to his new post with the Braves.

Young, 50, spent parts of 15 seasons playing in the Majors and has spent five prior seasons as a first base coach with the D-backs and Rockies (in addition to his on-air work with ESPN’s Baseball Tonight). Young swiped 465 bases in his career and averaged 47 steals per season from 1995-2000 and has previously worked as a baserunning instructor with the Astros.

The 46-year-old Fasano has worked in a variety of capacities in the Blue Jays organization, serving as a minor league manager as well as a minor league pitching coordinator and a minor league catching coordinator. He spent parts of 11 seasons as a Major League catcher — mostly as a backup — and long carried a reputation as a quality defender and receiver behind the dish.

Per the Braves, hitting coach Kevin Seitzer, assistant hitting coach Jose Castro, third base coach Ron Washington, pitching coach Chuck Hernandez and bullpen coach Marty Reed will all return to the organization in 2018.

Minor MLB Transactions: 11/4/17

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Here are some of the day’s notable minor moves:

  • Right-hander Deolis Guerra has elected free agency, as per the Angels’ official Twitter feed.  Guerra was outrighted off the Halos’ 40-man roster on Thursday.  The righty posted a 4.68 ERA, 7.9 K/9 and 1.83 K/BB rate over 25 relief innings for Los Angeles last season
  • Infielder Phillip Evans is heading back to the Mets on a minors deal that includes a spring invite, per a club announcement. He made it up to the majors for the first time and had some success in a brief run. Evans spent the bulk of the year at Triple-A — his first action at the highest level of the minors — and ended with a .279/.341/.418 slash over 510 plate appearances.
  • Outfielders Shane Robinson and Eric Young Jr. have elected free agency, the Angels announced. Both will likely end up with minor-league deals and camp invites, though perhaps Young in particular could land in a situation where he may have a shot at earning a bench role in camp. Robinson has struggled in his limited MLB time over the past two seasons, though he slashed .319/.379/.425 in 385 trips to the dish at Triple-A. Young had a productive run in a 125-plate appearance sample in the majors, slashing .264/.336/.418 while swiping a dozen bags. Like Robinson, he also showed well in precisely 385 plate appearances for Salt Lake, posting a .305/.375/.449 bating line while hitting the ball out of the park at an unprecedented personal rate (eight dingers in about half a season of work).
  • Former big leaguer Ryan Feierabend will continue to pitch for the KBO’s KT Wiz, according to a Yonhap News report. The southpaw appeared in three-straight MLB campaigns beginning in 2006 (when he was just twenty years of age), but didn’t make it back until a brief showing in 2014. From there, it was on to the KBO. The 32-year-old emerged in 2017 as the league-leader in ERA. He’ll earn a bit over $1MM after providing 160 frames of 3.04 ERA ball with 7.4 K/9 and 1.7 BB/9.
  • The Marlins have added lefty Miguel Del Pozo to their 40-man roster. Miami is evidently interested in protecting the 25-year-old lefty from minor league free agency (and the Rule 5 draft). Del Pozo returned from Tommy John surgery this year and briefly reached Double-A for the first time. He spent most of the season at the High-A level, where he allowed only one earned run while striking out 17 and issuing five walks in 16 2/3 frames.
  • Likewise, the Nationals moved young right-hander Wander Suero onto their 40-man. Fresh off of being named the organization’s minor league pitcher of the year, the 26-year-old could conceivably compete for a pen spot in Spring Training. He worked to a 2.48 ERA, with 9.0 K/9 and 2.6 BB/9, over 65 1/3 innings of pitching in the upper minors in 2017.

Angels Outright Eric Young

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The Angels announced that outfielder Eric Young Jr. has cleared waivers and been assigned outright to Triple-A Salt Lake. The move opens a spot for Mike Trout to be activated off the disabled list tomorrow. Young has been outrighted in the past, so he’ll have the option to elect free agency rather than accepting the assignment.

Young, 32, inked a minor league contract with the Angels back in January had his contract selected following Trout’s injury. While no one could realistically replace Trout, Young’s performance was likely better than many anticipated. In 110 plate appearances over the life of 34 games, the switch-hitter posted a solid .260/.336/.396 batting line with three homers, four doubles and eight stolen bases (in 11 tries). Both Baseball-Reference and Fangraphs agree that Young was worth just under a win above replacement level in that time.

Mike Trout Undergoes Thumb Surgery

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May 31: The Angels announced today that Trout “underwent successful surgery to the ulnar collateral ligament of his left thumb as well as a repair of his dorsal capsule today.” The general timetable for his return is currently pegged at six to eight weeks, per the team.

May 29, 10:26pm: Trout will undergo surgery on Wednesday, the club announced. He is expected to miss approximately six to eight weeks.

6:33pm: The Angels will place superstar center fielder Mike Trout on the 10-day DL for the first time in his career, according to J.P. Hoornstra of the Southern California News Group (via Twitter). An MRI today revealed a torn ulnar collateral ligament in Trout’s left thumb, the team announced and Mike DiGiovanna of the Los Angeles Times was among those to report (Twitter link).

Surgery is on the table at this point, though a decision has yet to be made. If the 25-year-old does end up going under the knife, he could be facing an extended absence for the first time in his already-storied career.

Los Angeles has selected the contract of veteran journeyman Eric Young Jr. to replace Trout on the roster. Young, who just turned 32, signed with the organization on a minor-league deal over the winter.

Injuries have hit the Angels rather hard through the first two months of the season, especially in the pitching staff, though the team has managed to hover around .500. That’s due in no small par to the otherworldly contributions of Trout, who entered today’s action with a ridiculous .337/.461/.742 batting line and a league-leading 16 home runs.

Trout had a less-than-sizzling start to his career upon a late-season call-up in 2011, his age-19 season, but has otherwise been utterly exceptional. He also has enjoyed more or less flawless health during his historic run since the start of 2012, playing in all but 45 of the Angels’ games until today.

Clearly, there’s no replacing Trout, but the Halos are set up about as well as could be hoped to weather an absence up the middle. Cameron Maybin and Ben Revere each have significant experience in center, and Young has spent a good bit of time there as well.

Young has seen action in each of the last eight MLB seasons, though he made it into only six games in 2016. While he has never hit much at the game’s highest level, Young is slashing a robust .354/.419/.528 with five home runs and 15 steals through 201 Triple-A plate appearances this year.

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