To fill the assistant hitting coach void left behind by Eric Chavez, the Yankees have “cast a wide net” in their search but are looking to hire an experienced former player, Kristie Ackert of The New York Daily News reports. The Yankees’ coaching staff is thin on MLB playing experience, so the club was looking to address that issue by hiring a hitting coach who is well-versed in competing at the MLB level. A 17-year veteran like Chavez would have been a perfect fit, and yet Chavez was officially a member of the staff for only a few weeks before being hired away by the Mets as their new lead hitting coach.
The Yankees had lined up Chavez and Casey Dykes as assistant coaches under lead hitting coach Dillon Lawson, with the trio presenting a varied set of perspectives. Lawson and Dykes each played college ball and have coached at the collegiate and minor-league levels, but neither played pro ball. Chavez, meanwhile, has never worked as a coach before, but he was a minor-league manager with the Angels and also worked as a special assistant within the Yankees’ and Angels’ front offices, in addition to his lengthy playing career.
One of the names under consideration for the assistant hitting coach job is Mark Trumbo, although it remains to be seen if he is necessarily interested in the position. A source tells Ackert that it would “take a lot” to convince Trumbo to return to the daily grind of big-league life, as he has “settled” into a nice family life after 10 MLB seasons. Trumbo hit .249/.302/.459 with 218 home runs over 4,419 career plate appearances, spending four seasons each with the Angels and Orioles while also suiting up with the Diamondbacks and Mariners.
Known for his power, Trumbo led baseball with 47 homers in 2016, resulting in a Silver Slugger Award and one of his two career All-Star nods. Knee problems hampered Trumbo following that big year, however, and he played only 12 games in 2019, which now seems to be his final season. While Trumbo wasn’t ready to officially retire following that abbreviated 2019 campaign, he hasn’t signed anywhere since, and even suggested to The Athletic’s Dan Connolly that a coaching career might eventually be in the cards.
More must-reads: