Red Sox finalize coaching staff with additions of Will Venable, Jason Varitek

The Red Sox finalized their 2021 coaching staff on Friday (relayed by Chris Cotillo of MassLive). As expected, Will Venable comes over from the Cubs to be Alex Cora’s bench coach. Also joining the staff is former Red Sox catcher Jason Varitek, who will step into the newly created game planning coordinator role. Varitek has worked in various positions in the Boston organization since wrapping up his playing career in 2011. His new job will make him a full-time member of the coaching staff for the first time, Cotillo notes.

Otherwise, most of the 2020 staff is set to return. Hitting coach Tim Hyers, assistant hitting coach Peter Fatse, base coaches Tom Goodwin and Carlos Febles, and pitching coach Dave Bush are all back to reprise their previous roles. Kevin Walker has been promoted from assistant pitching coach to bullpen coach (replacing Craig Bjornson), while Ramón Vázquez has been moved up to quality control coach.

The most notable addition to the Boston staff is obviously Cora, who was again hired as manager after serving a one-year suspension for his role in the Astros’ sign-stealing scandal. The 45-year-old skipper is plenty familiar with most of the holdovers, having managed the Red Sox from 2018-19.