Dodgers Officially Name Coaching Staff

After an offseason full of coaching changes, the Dodgers made their official major league coaching staff official this morning.

When the Dodgers mutually parted ways with manager Don Mattingly, all assistant coaches were said to be free to look for other coaching jobs around baseball.

Almost all of them did find new homes, as the Dodgers only have two returning coaches headed into next season.

Dave Roberts was the big one and won the managerial opening over Gabe Kapler, Bud Black and Darin Erstad, among others. I wrote a lot of words about him when he was hired, and I viewed it as a slam dunk hiring, despite his lack of previous managerial experience.

Jul 10, 2014; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Los Angeles Dodgers starting pitcher Clayton Kershaw (22) and pitching coach Rick Honeycutt celebrate after defeating the San Diego Padres 2-1 at Dodger Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Richard Mackson-USA TODAY Sports

Bob Geren was in the running for the managerial opening, but instead will move from the Mets’ bench to the Dodgers’ bench. He didn’t always have the best reputation as a manager, but was extremely highly thought of as the Mets bench coach.

Rick Honeycutt has been the Dodgers’ pitching coach for 10 years, and it was informally announced early on that he would be returning. The thought is for him to remain as the pitching coach for two more seasons, after which he will transition into a special assistant role.

Turner Ward had been the Arizona Diamondbacks’ hitting coach, and will take on the same role in LA. The DBacks have been an offensive force, but it’s uncertain if that’s Ward’s doing or Paul Goldschmidt and A.J. Pollock being freaks of nature. Either way, many Dodger fans are probably not too sad to see Mark McGwire out of this role, as he drew ire for the Dodgers dependency on the longball.

George Lombard and Chris Woodward will be the first and third base coaches, respectively. In September, Lombard was reported to become Atlanta’s Minor League Field Coordinator, but will instead replace Davey Lopes as the Dodgers’ first base coach. He spent the past six years working in the Boston organization as a low-level hitting coach and most recently their minor league outfield and baserunning coach. Woodward had been Seattle’s infield coach and received great reviews from Mariners GM Jerry DiPoto and third baseman Kyle Seager.

Josh Bard had been in the Dodger organization as a Front Office Special Assistant and a scout. He had a 10-year career behind the plate and finished up as a non-roster invitee with the Dodgers.

Tim Hyers was Boston’s minor-league hitting coordinator and now becomes an assistant hitting coach in LA.

Juan Castro becomes the Dodgers quality assurance coach after spending the past two seasons as their minor league infield coordinator. Castro had a 17-year MLB career as a light-hitting infielder and spend eight of those seasons in LA. Quality assurance sounds more like a car dealership role and not a baseball role. According to @presidual, the Cubs have a quality assurance coach as well, and he aids in defensive shifts and whether or not a play should be reviewed.

That explains that, as Kapler was assumed to have a spot on the Dodgers coaching staff. Kapler was a finalist for the managerial opening and lost out to Roberts. He probably helps the Dodgers more as a developer of young players than as an assistant coach, so I love that he’s remaining in his old role.

Next: Dodgers Deal with Iwakuma in Limbo

Last but certainly not least, former Dodger Steve Yeager will remain in his role as catching instructor. Yeager played with the Dodgers for 14 years and has been their catching instructor for the past four years.