NEW YORK — The New York Yankees have finalized manager Aaron Boone’s staff for 2022, including new additions at hitting coach, first-base coach and third-base coach.
Bench coach Carlos Mendoza and pitching coach Matt Blake are back for their third seasons in pinstripes, while bullpen coach Mike Harkey returns for a 13th year, the club said Tuesday. New to the staff are hitting coach Dillon Lawson, assistant hitting coaches Eric Chavez and Casey Dykes, third-base/outfield coach Luis Rojas, first-base/infield coach Travis Chapman and assistant pitching coach Desi Druschel.
New York fired hitting coach Marcus Thames, third-base coach Phil Nevin and assistant hitting coach P.J. Pilittere after the Yankees went 92-70 and lost the American League Wild Card Game against Boston. First-base coach Reggie Willits left to coach at the University of Oklahoma.
Lawson, 36, was promoted after three years as New York’s minor league hitting coordinator. He’ll be helped on the offensive side by Chavez and Dykes. Chavez had a 17-year big league career and spent the past five seasons as a special assistant with the Los Angeles Angels. The 31-year-old Dykes was the hitting coach for Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre last season.
Rojas was fired by the Mets in October after two underwhelming years as manager. The 40-year-old was with the Mets organization for 16 years. He was replaced in Queens by Buck Showalter, who held his introductory news conference Tuesday.
Chavez, 44, who played third base for the Yankees, Oakland Athletics and Arizona Diamondbacks, is a six-time Gold Glove winner who reportedly was in the mix for Rojas’ old job with the Mets, before they ultimately hired Showalter.
Chapman is entering his 10th season with the Yankees. Most recently, the 43-year-old was New York’s minor league infield coordinator.
Druschel, 46, spent the past three years as the club’s manager of pitch development.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Source: www.espn.com