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Giancarlo

Posts: 804

Yankees Finalize Coaching Staff

By Anthony Franco | December 21, 2021 at 5:28pm CDT

The Yankees finalized their coaching staff this evening, announcing the group that’ll be assisting manager Aaron Boone. Bench coach Carlos Mendoza and pitching coach Matt Blake are each back for third seasons in their respective roles. As previously reported, Dillon Lawson takes over as hitting coach to replace Marcus Thames.

Perhaps of most interest, the Yankees announced they’ve added longtime big league third baseman Eric Chávez as an assistant hitting coach. The left-handed hitter appeared in 17 MLB seasons between 1998-2014, compiling a career .268/.342/.475 line that checked in 13 points above the league average by measure of wRC+. Chávez spent the 2011-12 seasons with the Yankees, but he’s best known for his run with the A’s. During his time in Oakland, he earned six consecutive Gold Glove awards from 2001-06. He also claimed a Silver Slugger in 2002, a season in which he hit .275/.348/.513 and earned a 14th-place finish in AL MVP balloting.

Chávez hung up his spikes in July 2014 and quickly jumped into his post-playing days in the Bronx. He accepted a role as a special assignment scout with the Yankees before making the jump to the Angels’ front office after the 2015 campaign. Chávez spent the next few seasons there — including an interim stint managing in Triple-A. The 44-year-old had been mentioned as a candidate for managerial searches in both Anaheim and Texas in years past, although this’ll be his first stint on an MLB coaching staff.

Joining Chávez as an assistant hitting coach is Casey Dykes. The 31-year-old was poached away from Indiana University after the 2019 season, part of a leaguewide trend for teams looking to the amateur ranks in search of coaching talent. Dykes spent the 2021 campaign coaching hitters with Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre but will now get a bump to the big league level.

In other new additions to the staff, the club confirmed the previously-reported hirings of former Mets’ manager Luis Rojas as third base/outfield coach and Desi Druschel as assistant pitching coach. Longtime minor league coach and field coordinator Travis Chapman gets a bump to the big league staff as first base/infield coach. New York also brought back bullpen coach Mike Harkey and quality control/catching coach Tanner Swanson in the same roles.

Giancarlo

Posts: 804

I guess the guy who thought Matt Olson was Eric Chavez was partially right - the Yanks did get Eric Chavez, as an assistant hitting coach.

So Lawson, Chavez and Dykes take the reigns from Thames. And there should be no "dead ball" funny business in 2022.

Would be nice to see the team enjoy several comeback offensive seasons.

bruner4329

Posts: 4,482

Dec 21, 2021 -- 7:08PM, Giancarlo wrote:

I guess the guy who thought Matt Olson was Eric Chavez was partially right - the Yanks did get Eric Chavez, as an assistant hitting coach.

So Lawson, Chavez and Dykes take the reigns from Thames. And there should be no "dead ball" funny business in 2022.

Would be nice to see the team enjoy several comeback offensive seasons.

Now that we have basically 3 hitting coaches it would be nice to see some legitimate hitters added to the roster. You know the type that don't strike out 175-200 times a year and try to hit balls 500 feet all the time. Maybe we can even get them to string 3 hits in a row.

NW

Posts: 3,980

Not a single coach with any sort of fire. They're bringing in a bunch of Boone clones.

Paterson

Posts: 7,637

Dec 23, 2021 -- 10:14AM, NW wrote:

Not a single coach with any sort of fire. They're bringing in a bunch of Boone clones.

I think the "fire" has to come from players.

NW

Posts: 3,980

Dec 23, 2021 -- 11:17AM, Paterson wrote:

Dec 23, 2021 -- 10:14AM, NW wrote:

Not a single coach with any sort of fire. They're bringing in a bunch of Boone clones.

I think the "fire" has to come from players.

It does, but they also need someone on the coaching staff that doesn't coddle the players. Harkey may be that guy for the bullpen, but there's no coach in the dugout that isn't a coddler.

JudgeandYankees

Posts: 577

Dec 23, 2021 -- 11:17AM, Paterson wrote:

Dec 23, 2021 -- 10:14AM, NW wrote:

Not a single coach with any sort of fire. They're bringing in a bunch of Boone clones.

I think the "fire" has to come from players.

The fire normally comes from the manager but we have complacent Boone so.....

xnewyorker

Posts: 907

Coaches can only do so much and need good players with the right mindset to work with.

3 coaches seems a bit excessive and hope they have all similar hitting philosiphies.

Hope the coaches don't have rotating days off as much as the higher ups mandate the same for the players..

davis2

Posts: 19,213

Dec 23, 2021 -- 11:17AM, Paterson wrote:

Dec 23, 2021 -- 10:14AM, NW wrote:

Not a single coach with any sort of fire. They're bringing in a bunch of Boone clones.

I think the "fire" has to come from players.

Larry Bowa begs to differ... Coaches can set the tone, or be "enablers". This Yankee team needs a bit of that, Judge,G,and Voit are badasses,and could use "encouragement" at times.

Paterson

Posts: 7,637

Dec 26, 2021 -- 9:59PM, davis2 wrote:

Dec 23, 2021 -- 11:17AM, Paterson wrote:

Dec 23, 2021 -- 10:14AM, NW wrote:

Not a single coach with any sort of fire. They're bringing in a bunch of Boone clones.

I think the "fire" has to come from players.

Larry Bowa begs to differ... Coaches can set the tone, or be "enablers". This Yankee team needs a bit of that, Judge,G,and Voit are badasses,and could use "encouragement" at times.

Maybe, but at the end of the day Bowa was an average manager and Pat Burrell never justified his draft status. There are times when a coach can be useful in reaching a player but I think peer pressure works better.

Yankees Finalize Coaching Staff

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