Brewers Add Daniel Vogelbach To Coaching Staff
The Brewers announced their coaching staff for the upcoming 2026 season, and includes a familiar name. Former major league first baseman Daniel Vogelbach, who played with the Brewers from 2020-21, has been hired as a hitting coach. That’s part of a broader shakeup of the hitting coach staff. Lead hitting coach Al LeBoeuf, who was away from the team for part of the 2025 season after a prostate cancer diagnosis, is not returning to the major league staff but is staying in the organization. Assistant hitting coach Eric Theisen has been elevated to the lead hitting coach role. Vogelbach and former Blue Jays hitting coach Guillermo Martinez (another new hire to the staff) will be Theisen’s assistants.
Further changes in the staff are afoot. Third base coach Jason Lane has been promoted to the title of “offense and strategy coordinator.” Infield coach Matt Erickson will now also be the club’s third base coach. Assistant pitching coach Jim Henderson is being promoted to the title of “pitching coordinator.” In his old assistant pitching coach role, the Brewers will elevate Juan Sandoval, who’d previously been a minor league pitching coach and coordinator.
Spencer Allen, who’d been Milwaukee’s director of player development, joins the major league staff as a first base coach, replacing Julio Borbon. Allen was the head coach at Northwestern prior to joining the Brewers organization prior to the 2022 season. Adam McCalvy of MLB.com reports that both Borbon and LeBoeuf are remaining in the Brewers’ organization in roles that have yet to be specified.
It’s a major shakeup of the coaching staff, though much of the turnover is due to internal promotions. Vogelbach is the most recognizable newcomer. He played in parts of nine major league seasons from 2016-24, hitting a combined .219/.340/.405 with 81 home runs in just under 2000 plate appearances. Vogelbach rarely hit for average but always possessed superlative pitch recognition (career 15.1% walk rate) and considerable raw power. This marks his first coaching assignment since concluding his playing career last offseason, when he joined the Pirates as a special assistant in their baseball operations department.
Martinez, 41, was the Blue Jays’ hitting coach from 2019-24. He’s spent several seasons as a minor league hitting coach and hitting coordinator with both the Jays and the Cubs. After departing Toronto’s major league staff following the 2024 season, he returned for a second stint in the Cubs’ ranks, serving as a hitting coach with their Double-A club. He’s now back in the majors with just the third organization as he heads into his 15th season of professional coaching.
Brewers Hire Julio Borbon As First Base Coach
The Brewers announced their 2025 coaching staff on Tuesday morning. Milwaukee hired former MLB outfielder Julio Borbón as first base coach.
Borbón takes over the position from Quintin Berry, who departed to take the third base coaching job with the Cubs in October. Like Berry, the 38-year-old Borbón was best known for his speed during his playing days. He stole 47 bases over 294 games in a big league career that spanned parts of five seasons. Most of that time came with the Rangers between 2009-11. Borbón made brief appearances with the Cubs and Orioles in later years.
After retiring as a player in 2019, Borbón jumped into coaching in the Yankees’ system. He had a brief managerial run with New York’s rookie ball affiliate before moving into a player development capacity with the Twins in 2022. Borbón spent three seasons with Minnesota and now gets his first job on an MLB coaching staff.
The rest of Pat Murphy’s second staff in Milwaukee is as follows: associate manager Rickie Weeks, lead hitting coach Al LeBoeuf, hitting coaches Eric Theisen and Connor Dawson, pitching coach Chris Hook, assistant pitching/strategy coach Jim Henderson, bullpen coach Charlie Greene, third base coach Jason Lane, field coordinator Néstor Corredor, assistant coach Daniel De Mondesert, and infield coach Matt Erickson.
Adam McCalvy of MLB.com notes that the “strategy coach” element of Henderson’s title is a new development. The former closer has been on staff as an assistant pitching coach for three seasons. He’ll take on a bit more responsibility in game planning after run prevention coordinator Walker McKiven left to become Will Venable’s bench coach with the White Sox.
Brewers Finalize Coaching Staff
The Brewers announced today that they’ve promoted Chris Hook from pitching coordinator to pitching coach, hired Steve Karsay away from the Indians organization to serve as the new bullpen coach, and hired Scott Barringer away from the Astros to serve as the new head athletic trainer. Milwaukee also formally announced the previously reported hiring of Andy Haines as hitting coach and announced that Jason Lane would reprise his role as assistant hitting coach.
Hook has been with the organization for more than a decade, primarily working as a pitching coach at the minor league level before spending the 2018 season as the organization’s pitching coordinator. The 50-year-old had an 11-year professional playing career, including 65 2/3 innings with the Giants in 1995-96. He’ll be plenty familiar with a number of the team’s homegrown arms, having worked with them along the way in their journey to the Majors.
“I think when you know players and how they think, you can move them quicker,” said Hook of that benefit (Twitter link via MLB.com’s Adam McCalvy). “That’s the way I feel. Even though I don’t know all of these pitchers, I know a good bit of them, and I feel like they trust me. If we trust each other, you can do good things with people.”
The 46-year-old Karsay was a pitching coach in the Indians’ system for the past seven years, including a 2016-18 run as the pitching coach in Triple-A Columbus, where he worked with promising young arms like Mike Clevinger and Shane Bieber, among others. Karsay collected 41 saves and posted a 4.01 ERA through 603 1/3 innings as a Major Leaguer from 1993-2006.
Barringer creates yet another opening the Astros need to fill after previous losing bullpen coach Doug White, hitting coach Dave Hudgens and assistant hitting coach Jeff Albert to other organizations (to say nothing of assistant GM Mike Elias heading to Baltimore as the new Orioles general manager). Barringer was the Astros’ assistant athletic trainer from 2017-18 and the organization’s minor league medical coordinator in 2016. Prior to that, he as a minor league athletic trainer with the Cubs and Diamondbacks for a combined five seasons.
Retirement Notes: Jason Lane, Armando Galarraga
MLBTR congratulates Jason Lane and Armando Galarraga in retirement and wishes them the best in their post-baseball careers. Here’s the news on these prominent former big leaguers who are hanging up their gloves…
- The Brewers announced that Lane will join their Major League coaching staff next season, officially ending a rather remarkable 17-year pro career. Lane, 38, was a former Baseball America top-100 prospect who spent his first six MLB seasons as an outfielder with the Astros, including a big 26-homer season for Houston’s 2005 NL championship team. Lane fell out of the bigs after the 2007 season, however, and after a few years in the minors and independent leagues, pitching became his unlikely path back to the majors. His comeback culminated in one final cup of coffee in MLB as Lane appeared in three games for the Padres in 2014, posting an impressive 0.87 ERA and striking out six batters in 10 1/3 innings.
- Galarraga tells George Sipple of the Detroit Free Press that he’s retiring at age 33 due to arm injuries. He is attending the Winter Meetings with the hope of landing a position as a minor league pitching coach, and Newsday’s Marc Carig reports that Galarraga has interviewed from the Mets about a job. Galarraga posted a 4.78 ERA over 542 innings with four clubs from 2007-2012, though he’ll always be remembered for his “imperfect game” on June 2, 2010 as a member of the Tigers. Umpire Jim Joyce’s infamous blown call on what should’ve been Galarraga’s final out of a perfect game has often been cited as one of the key influences behind MLB’s implementation of the expanded replay system used today.
Minor Moves: Ramirez, Pena, De La Torre, Hood, Sanabia
We’ve already covered quite a few minor moves today, but Matt Eddy of Baseball America has plenty more to consider. Here’s the latest on the minor league front:
- The Diamondbacks signed pitcher J.C. Ramirez and re-signed catcher Blake Lalli. The 26-year-old Ramirez pitched 24 innings for Philadelphia in 2013, but performed poorly. He spent 2014 in the Indians system. Scouts like his 94 mph fastball, but he struggles with command and control as evidenced by a 5.63 BB/9 in his major league sample. Lalli, 32 next season, hit .275/.340/.373 in 2014 at the Triple-A level. He briefly appeared in the majors for the Cubs and Brewers during the 2012 and 2013 seasons.
- Utility infielder Ramiro Pena has elected free agency after the Braves outrighted him off the 40 man roster. Pena owns a career .244/.288/.330 line over 610 plate appearances in parts of six seasons. Capable of playing shortstop, second, and third base, the 29-year-old offers plenty of flexibility. He’s spent his entire career with the Yankees and Braves.
- The Reds signed pitchers Jose De La Torre, Marcus Walden, and utility infielder Irving Falu. De La Torre, 29, offers big strikeout stuff with control issues out of the bullpen. He appeared briefly for the Red Sox in 2013. Walden is less flashy than De La Torre, and he has spent most of his minor league career in the rotation. The 26-year-old has posted a 3.92 ERA, 5.4 K/9, and 3.1 BB/9 over 622 minor league innings. His results in the upper minors have been markedly worse. Falu, 32 next season, has appeared briefly for the Royals, Brewers, and Padres over the past two years.
- The Indians have signed outfielder Destin Hood. Possibly one of the gems of the minor league market, Hood hit .298/.348/.460 across three levels last season – mostly with the Nationals Triple-A affiliate. The former second round pick struggled prior to the 2014 campaign, which is probably why the Nationals did not add him to their 40 man roster. As Eddy notes, Hood hit .315 and slugged .556 against left-handed pitching last season, making him a good fit for a lefty heavy Cleveland lineup. He’s 25 next season.
- The Angels signed 26-year-old pitcher Alex Sanabia. The former Marlin has 138 major league innings to his name with a 4.15 ERA, 5.58 K/9, and 2.86 BB/9. The righty should serve as rotation depth.
- The Marlins signed pitcher Chris Narveson and outfielder Cole Gillespie. Narveson, a former Brewer and Cardinal, has a 4.65 ERA over 396 innings. He pitched in Japan last season with similar results. He’ll turn 33 later this month. Gillespie, once a prospect with the Diamondbacks, has bounced around the league. He’s briefly appeared with five major league clubs and owns a .230/.295/.329 batting line in 270 plate appearances. He’s 31 next season.
- The Padres have re-signed left-handed pitcher Jason Lane. The former Astros outfielder reached the majors as a pitcher last season and performed well in 10 and one-third innings. He allowed just one run on a home run, struck out six, and walked none in his age 37 season.
- The Mariners signed 32-year-old pitcher Justin Germano. The soft-tossing righty is best used as minor league depth, although he’s appeared with eight major league clubs over nine seasons. He owns a 5.40 ERA, 5.70 K/9, and 2.92 BB/9 in 330 career innings. His fastball averaged 85.5 mph last season.
Outrighted: Scott Elbert, Jason Lane, Tony Abreu
Let’s take a look at the day’s minor moves:
- Scott Elbert of the Dodgers has cleared waivers and been outrighted to Triple-A, tweets Ken Gurnick of MLB.com. The lefty was designated for assignment on Tuesday. He has been trying to work back to form after not throwing a big league pitch over the last two seasons. Elbert had the right to refuse the assignment, but will stay with the organization, tweets Mark Saxon of ESPNLosAngeles.com.
- The Padres have outrighted lefty Jason Lane, according to the MLB transactions page. Lane had an outstanding first big league start, but will serve as depth at Triple-A if he accepts his assignment.
- Tony Abreu has also been outrighted by the Giants, per the PCL transactions page. The second baseman received only four plate appearances during his brief call-up. He will have the option of electing free agency.
Padres Designate Jason Lane For Assignment
The Padres have designated Jason Lane for assignment, reports Corey Brock of MLB.com (via Twitter). Taking his active roster spot will be shortstop Everth Cabrera, who has been activated from the DL.
San Diego will hope to get Lane through waivers and back to Triple-A, says Brock, as they have done previously. Lane just made his first MLB start at age 37, tossing a six-inning, six-hit, one-run gem against the Braves. Though he was also successful in two prior relief appearances, the converted outfielder will apparently have to wait in El Paso for his next opportunity.
NL West Notes: Zobrist, Giants, Ziegler, Tulo
Jason Lane‘s improbable comeback story will add another chapter today when the outfielder-turned-pitcher will receive his first Major League start, getting a spot appearance in place of Padres ace Ian Kennedy (who’s battling a sore oblique). Lane began making regular mound appearances in 2012 in the minors in an attempt to revive his career, and the decision paid off earlier this season when he was called up by San Diego and threw 4 1/3 scoreless relief innings. That cup of coffee marked Lane’s first big league action since playing as an outfielder with the Astros and Padres from 2002-07. At age 37, Lane will be the oldest first-time starter since 38-year-old Troy Percival started a game for St. Louis in 2007.
Here’s some hot stove buzz from around the NL West…
- Despite already trading two of their better prospects in the Jake Peavy deal, the Giants have maintained an interest in Ben Zobrist and had two scouts watching the Rays this weekend, FOX Sports’ Jon Paul Morosi reports (Twitter links). San Francisco is one of “multiple teams” who are “ready to act” if Tampa indeed makes Zobrist available, sources tell Morosi and Ken Rosenthal.
- Multiple teams have shown interest in Diamondbacks right-hander Brad Ziegler, MLB.com’s Steve Gilbert reports, though the Snakes aren’t likely to move him. Earlier this month, we heard the Tigers were known to be one of the clubs who asked about Ziegler. Gilbert’s piece also summarizes some of the trade rumors circulating about what Arizona may do at the deadline.
- Troy Tulowitzki would welcome a trade to the Red Sox, Peter Abraham of the Boston Globe hears from a source (Twitter link). Given Tulowitzki’s controversial appearance in the stands at Sunday’s Blue Jays/Yankees game, expect more trade buzz than ever about the Rockies‘ star shortstop both over the next several weeks and through the offseason.
- Dodgers GM Ned Colletti said over the weekend that his club “may not do anything” at the trade deadline, and Mark Saxon of ESPN Los Angeles thinks this might not necessarily be a concern given how the current roster performed in sweeping the Giants.
Minor Moves: Jason Lane, Mike MacDougal
We’ll keep track of the day’s minor moves here …
- The Padres have outrighted lefty Jason Lane, according to the PCL transactions page. Lane, an outfielder-turned-hurler who just returned to the bigs seven seasons after his last tour, was designated for assignment on Saturday.
- Righty Mike MacDougal was released by the Mariners, also via the PCL transactions page. The 37-year-old righty carries an 8.25 ERA through 12 innings for Triple-A Tacoma. He last threw in the bigs in 2012, and owns a lifetime 4.00 ERA through 394 MLB frames over parts of 12 seasons.
- Per MLBTR’s DFA Tracker, the following players have yet to have their situations resolved: Jordan Pacheco (Rockies), David Huff (Giants), Jason Kubel (Twins), Trevor Cahill (Diamondbacks), and Wilton Lopez (Rockies).
Padres Designate Jason Lane For Assignment
The Padres have designated lefty Jason Lane for assignment, the San Diego Union-Tribune reports on Twitter. His roster spot will be taken by Andrew Cashner, who is set to come off the DL to start tonight.
A veteran of six MLB seasons as an outfielder, Lane received his first big league action as a pitcher at age 37. While it took quite an effort for Lane to return to the bigs, his stay was short. He tossed 4 1/3 scoreless innings, allowing only one hit with four strikeouts and no free passes.
Of course, Lane could well find his way back to San Diego this year. He currently owns a 4.36 ERA through 11 starts at Triple-A, and even remains a threat at the plate with a .407/.484/.667 triple-slash in 31 plate appearances.